Conflicting Hearts
by DevRiot
Summary: The Avengers are called together again, but Tony and Steve seem to hate each other a lot more this time. But is the hatred just a cover up for something deeper? Tony/Steve slash, but all Avengers characters are mentioned. Clint/Natasha all the way through, some Bruce/Tony, eventual Bruce/Loki. Rated M for some language and references to suicide. Read and review please. Thank you!
1. The Group

Steve Rogers awoke in his bed, sweat dripping down his face. It was still dark outside. Another nightmare must have woken him up, but he couldn't remember any of it. He swivelled his body to the side so he was sitting on the edge of his bed, head in hands. After Loki's attack on Earth had been foiled, the Avengers had gone their separate ways, and Steve had gone somewhere he'd never been before, Las Vegas. It had changed a lot since the pictures he'd seen back in his day. Of course, with all the other changes in technology and politics and everything else in those 70 years, he didn't expect Las Vegas to get left behind and wait for him to catch up. He'd rented out a very small, basic apartment. He never needed anything big or spectacular, that was Stark's game. Steve smiled when he thought of Tony. Although they hated each other on the surface, deep down, they were good friends. Besides, Tony reminded Steve of Howard, who he shared good memories with anyway. Steve checked his watch, 4:33am. Was it worth going back to sleep? He'd be up in an hour or so to go to the gym. He decided to get up and take a shower. Maybe he could just go to the gym early today, he felt like he was slacking anyway. Now that the Avengers had split up, there was nothing else to train for. But feeling his eyes grow heavy, the Captain laid back down onto the bed and drifted off, dreaming of Peggy.

* * *

"Sir? Sir, you have to wake up now. Sir?" said a computerised voice in Malibu. With a grumble, Tony Stark lifted his head off the desk he had so promptly fallen asleep on.

"Jeez, Jarvis, how long have I been asleep?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Only an hour or so, sir, but Miss Potts is on her way down to the labs, so I felt a wakeup call was necessary."

"Well thanks Jarvis. Hey, Butterfingers?" Tony gestured to the animatronic claw he had made, "Make Daddy a coffee." The claw nodded politely. Tony sat up and slapped himself around the face a couple of times. He stood up, stretched and cracked his back, before wandering over to a workbench and sliding some important looking files over, pretending to look busy as Pepper trotted into the room.

"Tony, you have a meeting at 11. You didn't forget, did you?"

"Forget? Me? Why would I forget something as important in my life as a meeting? Who am I meeting anyway?"  
"Your sarcasm doesn't work on me, Mr Stark. You're meeting Fury. He's calling you together again. Now suit up. We're setting off in half an hour." She pivoted on her heels and headed for the door.

"Pepper, do you mean 'suit up' or 'suit up'?"

"You know exactly what I mean. Dress for the occasion, Tony." She spat, without even turning to face him. And with that she was out the door.

"Jarvis, we're suiting up." Stark said, as he stepped on the circular plate that would transform him from a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist into a badass man of metal.

* * *

Natasha and Clint were already at S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. They lived there after the recent events. It made sense to have a close by response team for small emergencies, but most of the time, they were just training. They would spar together, and although the fight could last for hours, Natasha would always win, and Clint would be laid on the floor, panting. Obviously if he'd been allowed to use his beloved arrows, he'd have won time and time again, but he could never shoot the woman he loved, even if it was just a bit of fun and she could probably dodge them anyway. The marksman had proposed to Natasha not long after Loki's attack, as he realised how quickly they could be taken away from each other. Although they never said the words 'I love you', they were hopelessly devoted to one another, whether the rest of the world knew or not. Clint walked into their quarters to see Natasha sprawled on the bed, tired after their last sparring round.

"So the Black Widow is finally outdone?" He chuckled.

"No, no, no." She panted.

"Well obviously, you might have knocked me down, but I clearly have a quicker recovery time. I'm ready to go again!"

"Well I'm ready for hibernation. Leave me alone."

"Nat, you have to come down to base." Clint said, moving her left arm so he could slide onto the bed beside her.

"Can't you cover for me?"

"We all have to be there. And I mean all of us." Natasha shot up.

"They're coming back?"

"That's what Fury said. Apparently he has a new mission for the Avengers. We're needed down at base for a debriefing before they arrive. They're all coming at different times from different parts of the world though, so we might be down there a while."

"Ugh, can't I just have a cat nap and come down when they're here?" She grumbled.

"Erm... Fury wants you to go retrieve one of them."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you." He giggled, brushing a finger across her cheek.

"It better not be the big guy, I'm still traumatised you know."

"I know, Tasha. But no. Banner's already on a plane here. He's about two hours away. I've no idea how Fury wants you to do it.. But you've gotta get the space dude."

"Thor? How the hell am I supposed to contact him from Asgard?"

"No idea. But you have to try. Come down to base, he's probably got something to help you out." And with a grumble, Clint lifted Natasha off the bed, and gave her a gentle hug and kiss before they walked downstairs to the control room.

* * *

The red stress ball in Bruce Banner's hand was tattered and torn. It had rips and tears all over the place and there were chunks of foam missing from its surface. He wasn't angry. He was serene. But he felt the need to hold the ball anyway, just in case. He always had it on his person. He daren't go anywhere without it. Not that he didn't trust himself, he knew he could control the other guy from coming out. It was only after the other guy had appeared that he couldn't control him. The only reason Bruce needed the stress ball was to make other people think he was trying to control himself, although it only seemed to make them more on edge. He had been working on a low profile in Kenya, helping out sick children when he had been called back into headquarters by Fury. However, his ride was not what he was expecting. He'd been picked up by a private jet, but the inside was not all beige leather and free champagne. Bruce had been packed into a large, cold steel room that was now flying through the sky. He wasn't exactly sure how to feel. Whether to feel upset or hurt that Fury didn't trust him to behave himself in an airplane, or to feel belittled that the only way they thought he could travel was in a metal box. The one way he made sure he didn't feel was angry. He knew he wasn't far from headquarters now, but he wasn't going to risk letting the other guy out upon arrival.

* * *

"Loki!" Boomed a voice from one end of the room to the other. "Stop this madness. Even now, when you are chained up, how do you still manage to play tricks on our people?" Thor strode up to his brother, who was muzzled and chained up on the floor of an Asgardian prison cell. Somehow, from there, Loki had duplicated himself into the Asgardian towns, scaring the villagers and causing fights and accidents between the guards and warriors.

"I demand you to stop!" Thor boomed, grabbing Loki by the neck through the bars of the cell. "Will you? Brother?" Loki's eyes rolled. The muzzle was stopping him from speaking, and it took Thor a moment to realise. He removed the muzzle from his brother's mouth. "Will you?"

"I am not your brother." Loki said in his deep breathy voice, looking at Thor with a mixture of hatrid and hurt.

"You are. And even if you are not –"

"I am not."

"Still, you are like a brother to me, Loki. And I still love you. Now I demand you stop torturing our people. You must stop! The throne is neither of ours now. The All Father is keeping his reign. You have no reason to continue your hatrid."

"Thor, I am a broken man. I have nothing to live for, nothing to aspire to be. I have been the second choice all of my life, and I know I will die one way or another, whether by your hand or my own. If I –"

"It will never be by my hand brother. I would never do that to you. I –"

"Silence. If I am to die, I wish to do as I please with Asgard for a little while. Set me free, and let me feel as though I ruled, just for a moment. Please, brother?" Thor's hard face softened as he looked into his brother's pleading eyes, but Loki was a trickster, and Thor would not be fooled again.

"Death comes to us all you fool. But that is no reason for you to wreak havoc throughout our world. I will NOT set you free, for you will only use my graciousness as excuse to run wild and attempt to take the throne again." Thor's voice was gradually getting louder and closer to Loki until he was shouting right in his face, and grabbing him by the throat again, he lifted and dropped the small man before turning on his heel and walking out of the prison cell block, his red cape bellowing behind him.


	2. Returning to SHIELD

"That is not what I meant by suit up." Pepper growled through gritted teeth, as Tony sat next to her in the taxi in full Ironman attire.

"You said dress for the occasion, and it's only Fury we're meeting, he's seen me like this before."

"It is still a meeting Tony, you still have to make a good impression."

"Would you like me to dress _half _smart? Fury can only see one side of me anyway." Pepper gave him a threatening look as the cab took them to their meeting place. They pulled up to a large skyscraper in the centre of the city.

"Sorry where are we meeting him?" Tony asked, looking up at the building.

"Top floor. On the balcony. 24 flights of stairs,", she checked her watch, "and 4 minutes to get there. Let's get a move on." She said as she left the cab, slamming the door behind her.

"I know a shortcut.." Tony said with a cheeky grin before Pepper interrupted him.

"No, come on. Stairs."

"Fine, you take the stairs, I'll race you."

"No, Tony, stop being childish. Stairs. No-" But before she could finish, Tony had wrapped his arms around her waist and set off to the top floor, Iron Man style. They landed on the balcony, much to Fury's surprise, and Pepper jolted out of Tony's grip with a huff, adjusting her hair.

"Fury." Tony greeted him, holding out a metal hand.

"Mr Stark." Fury shook the hand with so much force, he could have crushed the metal.

"So what's the issue?"

"Nothing major, Stark. I'll debrief you when we've got all of you back at headquarters. Barton and Agent Romanoff are already there, Banner is on his way, and Romanoff is going to get hold of Thor. Somehow."

" What about good old Stars and Stripes?" Tony said, flipping up his head piece.

"The Cap doesn't know we're meeting up yet. We can't get hold of him to call him in. We know whereabouts he is, but we have no way of contacting him unless we fly out there ourselves, and we need him to be at headquarters within an hour. There's only one person we know who can fly there, persuade him to come back and return all within an hour." Fury explained, giving Tony a knowing look.

"Oh no, no, I'm not doing it. How am I supposed to persuade him? You know full well Fury that we're at each other's throats all the time. He won't listen to me." He looked at Pepper for support, but he wasn't getting any.

"Mr Stark, you have to go. You're the only one who can get there and back in time. You've gotta bring him back, whether he comes willingly or not." Fury smiled at Tony during that last sentence. He knew exactly what the genius was thinking.

"Willingly or not? So if, there was other way of course, he.. might have to be unconscious for the journey?"

"By any means necessary, Mr Stark." Tony flashed Pepper a cheeky grin, who rolled her eyes. "So you'll do it?"

"Sure. Start your stopwatch. Back in an hour." Tony shouted and he flipped down his headpiece and flew off up into the sky, leaving a trail of smoke behind him. Pepper smiled awkwardly at Fury, realising Tony's mistake.

"He'll be back." She said sweetly.

"Oh, I know." Fury replied, as a reluctant Tony landed back down on the balcony. Fury looked down at the pocket watch in his hand. "Wow, stopwatch says 8 seconds, Stark. Take it Cap didn't wanna come? Pft. You don't know where you're going do you?"

"Er.. no. I was hoping JARVIS would tell me. But he's useless."

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry J. Where am I going Fury?"

"23 Viel Street, Las Vegas. Make it quick."

"Thanks. Start your stopwatch... now."

* * *

"Dr Banner, lovely to see you again." Clint stuck out a hand as Bruce stepped out of the airplane.

"Hawk. How's life?" Bruce said with a smile, shaking his hand firmly.

"Not bad Doc, not bad. Peaceful at the minute. But I get the feeling that will change soon." Bruce gave him a stern look. "No, sir, I didn't mean because.. you're here.. I meant because, like, new mission.. And all 6 of us back together and.. very hectic? And.. Ugh. I'll show you to your quarters." Bruce couldn't help but smirk at Clint's attempt at digging himself out of a hole. He didn't know Barton that well, mostly because he had been under Loki's control for most of the last mission, but he seemed like a nice guy.

"Sure." He said, following him. Clint took Bruce to a laboratory which was fitted with all the state of the art equipment. It had two doors either side of the room.

"That one," Clint said, pointing to the first door, "Is your bedroom. Massive bed. Everything smells of lavender. Very relaxing. Has a bathroom connected to it. There's a huge Jacuzzi bath. And I mean huge. A man can lay in it fully submerged, no problem. It has built in mood lighting and surround sound stereo, so you can have some nice whale music on or something. Calm yourself down." He gave Bruce a wink. He then pointed at the second door. "That one, my friend, is a very, very large reinforced concrete bomb shelter. I'm sure you can guess what that one's for. But Fury insisted we put this in, just in case, y'know?"

"I understand," Bruce said with a sigh, "Where's your partner in crime?"

"Nat?" Clint asked, his tough guy persona slipping away momentarily, "She's trying to get hold of the Olympic Hammer Thrower." They both chuckled.

"How's she gonna do that?"

"Fury's given her some device that can contact the Asgardian gatekeeper. He should relay all the information back to Thor, or something. I'm not sure how it works up there."

"Neat. Where's my partner in crime?" Bruce asked with a cheeky smile. Barton chuckled.

"Stark's having a meeting with Fury as we speak. He's gotta go fetch the Cap but he should be back soon. Anyway Doc, I'll let you get on. You've got plenty of time to look around and do some labby stuff before the other guys get here. We'll call you down when it's debriefing time."

"Thanks Clint." Bruce called after him as he left the lab.

* * *

Natasha opened the small briefcase Fury had given her to reveal a small black and gold device which was shaped like one of the horns on Loki's helmet. The tip of the horn came off, and it was very small, like an earpiece. She fitted it neatly into her left ear, and saw that the other end of the horn could be used as a microphone of sorts. She felt like she was using an old fashioned telephone, but hopefully, this would work and she could bring the God back down to headquarters.

"Hello?" She spoke nervously into the horn. "Hello? Gatekeeper? Gatekeeper?" This was useless. Fury had given her a piece of junk. But she wasn't going to give up so easily. Maybe she just had to be louder. "Gatekeeper? GATEKEEPER?" No response. Maybe she had to use the gatekeeper's actual name? Quickly she searched the S.H.I.E.L.D database for a name. Heim.. Heimdall? Sounded Asgardian enough. She tried it. "HEIMDALL? HEIMDALL CAN YOU HEAR ME? HELLO? HEIMDALL?"

"Who goes there?" Boomed the voice of the gatekeeper on the other end.

"Hello. My name is Agent Romanoff. I am a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. We are peaceful. We mean no harm to Asgard. I need you to send Thor Odinson down to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters, please?"

"Thor will not do as I ask. He is the future king of Asgard. He may have matured but he takes orders from no one."

"He'll take orders from me. Just tell him S.H.I.E.L.D need him at headquarters right away. Tell him he'll find out what for when he arrives. Do you think you can do that?"

"I will try fair maiden, but there are no promises that he will listen to me. Or that he will leave his home just for humans."

"He will. Trust me. Thank you, Heimdall. You have been very helpful." Natasha backed away from the microphone, took the earpiece out and fitted it back into the horn, before placing the whole thing back into the briefcase.

Back in Asgard, Heimdall was preparing to try and call Thor forward. He banging his staff against the remainder of the shattered rainbow bridge.

"THOR!" He bellowed, his voice carrying the God's name for miles. Within a matter of minutes, Thor arrived with Lady Sif and The Warriors Three.

"Heimdall, whatever is the matter?"

"You are requested in Midgard."

"And which human, might I ask, needs me this time?" Thor had learnt that crossing the fingers was a good luck symbol back on Earth, and he had his fingers crossed for Jane Foster. She was the only woman he had ever felt true feelings for. But he knew it wouldn't be her. She would never have a matter so pressing that she would personally contact Heimdall.

"S.H.I.E.L.D." Heimdall boomed. The disappointment only flooded through Thor's body for a mere moment before the prospect of new adventure filled his heart with joy. He turned to his faithful companions.

"Warriors! I must leave, for my presence is needed in Midgard. Lady Sif, tell my family of my whereabouts and care for them until I return. Hogan, you are in charge of making sure my brother does not escape. And you two, look after my people." He bowed before his friends, and they returned his bow. He smiled, and held out a hand towards Asgard until his beloved Mjolnir flew to his hand. Then he turned back to the gatekeeper. "Heimdall, I am ready." And with a burning flash, Thor was on his way back to Earth.

* * *

Back in Las Vegas, Steve was in the bathroom, washing his face in the sink. He splashed the cool water up into his eyes, and looked up at himself in the mirror. He grunted. He still looked twenty something, not.. however old he was now. It felt weird not even knowing how old he was. He felt like a part of him was missing. There was so much he could have done in the time he was asleep for. Yes he would have died of old age, but he could have done so many good things for his country in that time. Instead, he was trapped in an ice box for over half a century. He felt so useless. Anger boiled up inside him. He hit the mirror, breaking the glass. He heard a boom from outside. Puzzled, Steve took his hand out of the mirror and bandaged himself up. He put on a jacket and went out of his apartment and into the fresh air.

"The hell are you doing here?" He cried out, as he saw Iron Man crouched on the ground outside his apartment block.

"Taking you home."

"This is my home? This is where I live now." Steve shouted as Stark edged closer, flipping up his headpiece.

"Nice try, Grandpa, but we've gotta go back to S.H.I.E.L.D. Like, now."

"S.H.I.E.L.D? Why?"

"Don't know. Fury wants us in. New mission. Or something. We're gonna be told when we get there. Now come on. Arms round my shoulders. Hold on tight." Tony turned his back on the soldier and gestured towards his shoulders.

"Why couldn't Fury have come to get me? Why did you have to come?"

"Oh, I missed you too buddy. And I don't know why he couldn't get you himself. Strict time schedule. I'm the fastest thing in the skies. Fury asked me specifically to come fetch you. Now grab anything you need and let's go."

"I'm not just holding on to your shoulders and letting you fly through the air with me. What if I lose grip? This isn't safe, Stark."

"You scared, Cap?" Tony smirked.

"No, not scared. Just concerned. I'm not going with you Stark. I'll wait for Fury."

"Fury's not coming, Rogers. You either come with me, or you're off the mission."

"Guess I'm off the mission then. Go home, Stark." Steve said with a growl, turning away and heading back into his apartment.

_Well, _Tony thought to himself, _Fury said by any means necessary. _He lifted up his metal hand and aimed the thrusters at Steve's head, a blast just strong enough to knock him out. Stark fired. But Steve knew, and raised his hand to his apartment window where his shield flew out, faster than Stark's power bolt, and blocked Steve's head from the blast. He turned around to face Tony.

"What. The. Hell?" Rogers screamed.

"Oh dear." Stark said, as Steve charged for him. He punched him in the face. Kicked him in the shin and delivered another punch to the stomach. Tony blew his thrusters at the Captain, knocking him back on to the ground, but Steve got back up at raced at Tony again, punching him in the head repeatedly.

"Jarvis, how we doing?"

"Vitals are good sir. Just a bit disorientated from all this. He's strong. What's his secret?"

"Steroids." Stark said, as he blasted Steve with another bolt from his thrusters. The Cap landed on the floor again, and struggled to get up straight away.

"Done your back out, gramps?" Tony asked, sarcastically. Steve tried to get up but was struggling to his feet. "Okay, let's put you out of your misery." Tony fired a gentle knock-out blast at Steve's head, which as intended, knocked him out. "Alright, Rogers. Let's go." He flung Steve over one shoulder and shot off into the sky.


	3. The Debriefing is Foiled

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Towards the end of this chapter, things get a little sensitive, and I am deeply sorry if this chapter is hard to deal with or affects you personally in anyway, I just felt like the issue needed to be addressed. My apologies again.**

"Tony, nice of you to join us!" Fury shouted as Stark entered S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters with Steve hung wearily over one shoulder. "You knocked him out?"  
"You said I could?"  
"Well, he better come round soon else we're gonna have trouble on our hands. I wanted to debrief in the next fifteen minutes."  
"I'll help him come to." Tony said as he carried the soldier over to a corner, and dropped him on to the floor, slumped against the wall. "Hill?" He called the young S.H.I.E.L.D. agent over.  
"Yes, Stark?"  
"Get me two glasses of ice cold water. Right now."  
"Right.." She said, wandering off. Tony crouched down to Steve's level.

"Rogers. Come on Rodge. Steve. Come on. Hey. Hey." Stark gently slapped at the Captain's face. A big part of Tony hated this man. His father spoke of nothing but Captain America, and always compared Tony to him. Anything Tony did that wasn't up to the standards the Cap had set was seen as a failure in his father's eyes, and that made Tony despise him. Meeting Steve hadn't made it any better, they never saw eye to eye, and it was clear that Steve thought poorly of him. But at the same time, Tony knew that Steve was one of the few people who could see past his tough exterior and could see the pain and suffering he'd gone through. Although he hated his dad, Tony loved him more than anything else, and Steve having known both of them, could help Tony understand his father a little more. Maria arrived with the two glasses of water. Stark took them from her, and while drinking the one in his right hand, he splashed the one in his left over Steve's face.

"Whoa.. The hell was that?" Steve shouted, wiping the ice cold water from his eyes.

"No idea. I was just sat her innocently drinking my glass, see?"

"You liar. Where am I, Stark?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D." Fury said, holding a hand down to Steve, helping him up.

"Hello, sir." Steve cried, jumping to his feet and saluting the S.H.I.E.L.D agent.

"Ugh, Rogers, you don't have to do that here. You don't need to salute anyone. If anything we should be saluting you, Captain." Fury grimaced, batting his hand to dismiss Steve's salute. "Right, come on you two. Get to the control room table. Hill? Call up our assassins. Get them to fetch the Doctor." Fury waded over the table, followed swiftly by Stark and Rogers, who looked like two kids pushing to be the favourite. They took seats, opposite ends of the table, naturally, with Fury sat between them. The automatic doors slid open and in came a flustered looking Natasha, who smiled at Tony and nodded at Steve before taking a seat next to Fury. She was followed by an equally flustered looking Clint.

"Well if it isn't Robin Hood?" Tony said with a wink.

"Always a pleasure, Tony." Barton said, patting him on the shoulder. "Captain." He said, wandering over to Steve and shaking his hand, before sitting across from Natasha.

"Any word on Thor, Romanoff?" Fury asked, turning further than he should have to to face her, due to his eyepatch.

"Last I heard, the gatekeeper was going to let him know that we needed him, but he isn't definitely coming."

"I think he is." Steve said, pointing outside of the building. The beautiful blue sky Tony and Steve had just been flying through had turned a deadly shade of grey. The clouds were circling the headquarters in a very unnatural way, there was no way it was just a cyclone. All of a sudden, flashes of lightning appeared throughout the storm, and a small dark figure landed outside the window. The storm dispersed and the blue skies returned. The small figure walked closer and closer to the window, getting larger and larger, until the tall, toned silhouette of the God could be seen. He wandered through the glass door and into the control room, and straight up to the table.

"Did you miss me?" He said, his voice booming. Steve immediately stood up to greet him. Steve and Thor had become best friends after the last mission. The Captain was out of his time, and the God wasn't even on the right planet, so with them both being outsiders, a friendship was easily formed.

"It's nice to see you again, friend!" Thor shouted at Steve, pulling him into a hug and patting his back.

"You too, sir." Steve said with a smile, as he wandered back to his seat.

"You took your time Thor." Fury said with a frown.

"Sorry sir, the rainbow bridge is broken, so it takes a while to get to Midgard. And even then, one cannot guarantee that I am in the right place. Heimdall transported me to an area called 'Ontario' so I had to travel via thunder to get here."

"... Right. Well now that Hamlet's finished his speech shall we get on with our debriefing?" Clint asked impatiently as Thor took a seat between himself and Steve.

"Aren't we forgetting someone?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, where's Brucey? I need my science bro, else I'm not staying." Tony exclaimed. Steve let out a snort, which made Tony give him a dead eye.

"I'll go find him." Natasha said, lifting herself from her chair and back through the automatic doors.

* * *

"Dr Banner?" Agent Romanoff asked as she knocked on the frosted glass door of Bruce's lab. She opened it wearily. After her last experience with him and his accidental outbreak, she didn't want to see him transforming again. He wasn't in his lab, so he must have been in either of his two rooms. If he was in the concrete room, she really didn't want to go in there, so crossing her fingers, she knocked on the bedroom door. "Dr Banner?" Still no answer. "Bruce, are you in there?" Again, she took matters in to her own hands and opened the door carefully. His bed was still made, it hadn't been touched. There wasn't even an imprint where he'd sat on it, unless he made his bed again afterwards, she knew he was quite the perfectionist. There was only one other place she was willing to check, and she wasn't sure if it was a good idea. The bathroom. Which was worse, a giant green monster which could kill her in one hit, or a naked doctor? She figured she'd take the risk of the naked doctor, and knocked on the door first. "Bruce? Dr Banner?" No response. She cautiously turned the doorknob and opened the door. "Oh god," she held her hand to her ear, activating her earpiece that all S.H.I.E.L.D personnel wore, "Anybody, copy? Send immediate medical help to Dr Banner's quarters, we have a situation!"

* * *

When Bruce Banner came round on the medical table, his head hurt and his vision was hazy. He started coughing up water. Immediately, the other five Avengers and Nick Fury rushed to the table.

"You alright son?" Fury asked. Bruce looked at each of their faces in turn. They all looked worried about him. Tony's expression was a little harder to read. His eyes were red, whether he'd been crying or just rubbing them, Bruce wasn't sure, but at the same time, Tony looked happier than anyone else surrounding him, like he was so relieved that Bruce was okay.

"I'm fine thanks, Fury." Bruce answered, coughing.

"Give him some space guys, come on, back to quarters. We'll debrief first thing tomorrow, when Dr Banner feels up to it."

"I feel up to it now, sir. I just need to-"

"No, Banner. Go on everyone. Barton, Romanoff, show everyone to their rooms." Clint and Natasha nodded, and gestured for the others to follow them. Soon, it was just Fury and Banner in the medical room.

"Sir I-" Bruce started.

"No. Before you come up with any goddamn petty excuses, I wanna know your reasons."

"Reasons for what?"  
"For why you tried to drown yourself in the bathtub, Banner. Don't you dare tell me you were just 'taking a bath' because you were fully clothed. So come on. Reasons." Fury looked at him very sternly, and Bruce stared up at the ceiling, swallowing back tears.

"I just.. I've told you all before. I hate this. I hate being a monster. I hate being on edge all the time, conscious of all my actions in case they make the Hul- the other guy come out. It feels like you're risking all of the S.H.I.E.L.D staff, all of the equipment, and all of the other Avengers, just by having me here. And it's not a risk I'm willing to let you take. That first time Natasha saw the other guy, she couldn't look at me the same way after that. She still can't. I don't want to put anyone else in harm's way just because I can't calm my temper. I don't deserve to be here, Mr Fury. I'm sorry. But you either let me leave the premises, or I'll just find another way to get rid of myself." He was crying by that point. Even Nick Fury, who never showed any emotion, looked touched by Bruce's speech. He thought it was quite weird that such a muscley killing machine could be so sensitive. He put a hand on Bruce's shoulder; his shirt was still damp after being pulled out of the bathtub.

"Look, son. It's gonna be alright. You're worth more than that. I know when you're in Bruce Banner form, you feel like a waste of space and when you're the Hul- the other guy, you feel like you're putting everyone else at risk, but you're really not. You're doing everyone else a favour. When you're Bruce Banner, you're a smartass. You can hack into any software on the planet and carry out multiple experiments in a matter of minutes. More importantly, when you're Bruce Banner, you keep Tony Stark from blowing shit up. You keep him busy, and that's a favour for all of us. He's hard to deal with, and you manage to do it. That's admirable. If anything will test your patience , he will, proving you're stronger than you think. And not forgetting, when you're NOT Bruce Banner, and you're... the other guy, you're one of the most useful weapons we have. And I know you think you're a mindless killing machine, but you're not. Remember when The Cap was giving instructions during the last mission? You listened to him. You did as he asked. That's not mindless. That's intelligent. And you're not just a killer either. When Stark fell from the air, you caught him. You saved his life. So don't ever tell yourself you're not worth it. Yes life is a struggle every day for you, but it is for all six of you. Why do you think we put you together? Not just to be the best crime fighting team we have on Earth, but because you can support each other. You fit together. Any part of you which you feel is missing, another Avenger might be able to fill. You six aren't the only superheroes out there you know. You're just the ones who fit together perfectly. So don't ever think you're not worth it, because without you, the whole thing falls apart. I'll escort you back to your quarters now. And I'm going to trust you not to do anything stupid again. I just want you to go to bed, and mill over what's happened today. Be awake for 3pm tomorrow, Banner, we're gonna have this goddamn debriefing if it kills me. Oh, and this time, don't keep me waiting, Doctor." Fury said with a smile, and Bruce was smiling too. Fury helped him to his feet and they wandered slowly down the intricate corridors of the headquarters back to Banner's lab.


	4. Bridges Built and Bridges Burnt

**Author's Note: Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's been reviewing or has favourited/followed this story, I really appreciate it.**

* * *

It wasn't until lunchtime the next day when all five remaining Avengers were all gathered in the control room. Fury wandered in, yawning. He slept late. Almost like a teenager. A very.. old.. teenager.

"Guys, you don't have to be in here all the time, you know? We have a common room. Sofas, TVs, that kind of thing? Barton, Romanoff, why didn't you show them? Go on, take them now." He snarled, his voice croaky from the sleep. Following his orders, Natasha and Clint trotted hand in hand down a very long passageway, Thor and Steve following them, talking about their obsessions with the hammer and the shield. For the first time in a while, but not in his life, Tony Stark, the man who had everything, felt alone. He was traipsing behind at the back of the group. It felt weird being in an odd number, but obviously with his science bro recovering in his quarters, Tony would have to make do without him. Stark rarely felt uncomfortable or out of place, as his confidence and sarcasm carried him through, but he felt like he'd be butting in by interrupting Thor and Steve's conversation, and Clint and Natasha were at the front of the queue, too far away to start a conversation with. So Tony continued traipsing behind until they reached a door at the end of the corridor.

The door opened into a clean, classy and modern room, with a giant plasma TV which covered the whole of one wall. There were about three sofas directly in front of the television, and then a table with six chairs surrounding a bit further back, in almost a kitchen area. Clint sat down on the central sofa and Natasha sat beside him, curling up onto his chest. Thor bounded over to the kitchen like an excited puppy, checking the cupboards for food. Fury had obviously stocked the cupboards to their tastes as Thor let out an unexpectedly girly squeal when he found a box of strawberry poptarts. Tony waddled to the table and chairs and sat down, letting his head flop on to the table almost immediately. Steve sat down beside him.

"What's wrong, Stark? Worried about Bruce?"

"Yeah. I mean, we all are. I know we all are. But he's a good guy, y'know? I can't get my head around why he'd do that." Tony's voice came out muffled as he hadn't bothered to take his head off the table.

"I know, I know. Bad things happen to good people, Stark, I wouldn't worry about him. He's in good hands with Fury. He'll turn up at the debriefing this afternoon, and he'll be fine." Steve put a hand on Tony's shoulder.

"Thanks Cap," Tony said, lifting his head momentarily to smile at Steve, "I still hate you." He smirked as he put his head back down. Steve just laughed, and gave him a pat on the back before joining Clint and Natasha on the sofa to watch some modern day television. Tony was left in the silence of his own thoughts for about twenty seconds before he was interrupted by the screech of a chair next to him and a booming voice that was muffled by poptarts.

"Whatever is the matter, Man of Iron?" Thor asked, chewing.

"Just life, Thor. No worries. Life's full of unexpected little predicaments and stuff, y'know?"

"I know, friend. Life can change in a matter of seconds, yes? I know that all too well. I was cast out by my own family for my own foolish acts. And I had to adapt to a new world whilst maturing and coping with feelings for a woman whom I loved, all at the same time. Life is very hard, Mr Stark." Thor said, starting on his third poptart.

"Did you tell her?" Tony asked, bringing his head up to watch the God's expression grow full of hurt.

"That I loved her? No. I kissed her, and told her I would return for her. But I never did. Loki ruined that for me. The only time I can come to Earth, is if I am desperately needed. And she has never needed me that desperately." Thor's eyes glazed over as he stared into space, thinking of Jane Foster.

"Sorry to hear that buddy. Maybe once we've finished this new mission, you can go find her?"

"I hope so," Thor said, smiling again and tucking into a fourth poptart, "It would be worth the long journey to Midgard, friend. Don't you have amorous feelings for anyone?"

"I have Pepper. I suppose. She runs my company. And my house. And my life really. She's more of a babysitter than a lover. But I do have feelings for her. Although, she's not what I really want. Or need for that matter. Know what I mean?" Tony said, lowering his head back on to the desk.

"I am aware, Mr Stark. It is always difficult being in a commitment where you no longer love the other person, or your desire has moved on to other beings. What about you guys?" Thor shouted over to the other three, who were just channel flicking, much to Steve's amusement. Natasha grabbed the remote from Clint and turned the TV off. Hoisting herself off of the sofa, she gracefully swept towards the men and took a seat at the table, reluctantly followed by Clint, who sat beside her. Steve however, remained on the sofa.

"Well, I'm committed." Natasha said, looking up at Clint.

"Me too." He said, reciprocating her gaze.

"I was only enquiring," Thor said, grimacing, "I wasn't expecting a soppy demonstration."

"Soppy?" Natasha cried, "Soppy? Really? When have we ever been soppy? I bet you idiots didn't even know we were engaged."

"You're engaged? Holy shit." Tony said, lifting his head off the table again, "Wow, Legolas, you scored, buddy." Clint gave him a wink. Natasha gave him a threatening stare.

"Steve, my friend?" Thor bellowed towards the Captain, "Anyone?"

"Don't bother asking the 70 year old virgin. Captain Abstinence over there won't even know what a woman is." Tony smirked.

"Excuse me," The Cap said, suddenly stood behind Tony, looking very angry, "I know what a woman is. Just because I haven't copulated doesn't mean I cannot love, Stark. Not all men think with their genitals."

"Go on then. What's your story, Capsicle?" Tony asked, looking him dead in the eye. Steve sighed and took a seat next to Stark.

"She was called Peggy. She was the only woman who ever paid attention to me. And I loved her the moment I saw her. We were going to go dancing when I got back from my mission. But.. I never got back. Instead I was frozen in a 'capsicle' as you put it. So I was devastated when I awoke after my catnap. I never found out what happened to her. How she lived. How she died. I'd like to know. But I think it would hurt to know." The whole table was silent, just listening to Steve talk. Natasha looked like she was on the edge of tears but Clint had his arm around her, which made her feel better. Thor had instinctively put his hand on Steve's shoulder, comforting him. Tony however, just felt guilty. He didn't know life had been that hard for Steve. The way his father spoke about him, always made it seem that he was some scrawny do-gooder who got beefed up and walked away from war with all the glory. Tony always assumed Steve had it easy. And now, knowing his heartbreaking story, Tony wished he'd never brought up the issue.

"I'm sorry, Steve." Tony was the first to break the silence.

"It's fine. Seriously. Everyone has a past. Just, the rest of you have chances to tell them you love them. Thor, nothing is stopping you from going and finding your lover, you could walk out of the doors right now and find her. Tony, you have Pepper, if you do love her, you should tell her that. If you don't, you should end it, you're playing with her feelings, and that's not fair at all. And Clint and Natasha? You two are together every day and it's so easy to take that for granted. But you know how dangerous our work is. You should take the time every day to tell each other how you feel. Me? I have to move on. I think part of me already has, to be honest. But if I did want to tell Peggy how I feel- I mean, felt, I'd have to invent a time machine first." Steve felt the tears burning up in his eyes, and he excused himself from the table before calmly walking out of the common room, and ran up the long corridor to his quarters, where he let out a wail and cried into his pillow.

* * *

Tony was stretched out on one of the sofas half asleep, and half watching the remainder of some crazy action film Clint had picked out. He looked over at the other two sofas, Natasha and Clint curled up together on the middle one, like before, and Thor was sleeping on the other sofa, clutching his stomach, surrounded by empty poptart boxes and wrappers. Stark sat up and tiptoed out of the room, trying not to disturb the sleeping God or the infatuated sweethearts. He set off down the corridor until he came to the personal quarters. Where was he going? Tony wasn't even sure whether he wanted to be by himself in his own quarters, or with Bruce, making sure he was alright, or even with Steve, comforting him. He knocked on the door.

"Come in." Said a gruff voice on the other side.

"Hey, you alright?" Tony asked as he popped his head around the door.

"Well I was not expecting you of all people to come comfort me, Stark." The Captain said with a smile. He was curled up on one side of his double bed.

"Felt that you needed a friend. And figured I might as well try to build some bridges." Tony was quite taken aback by the Captain's room. S.H.I.E.L.D had gone all out with that one. They'd obviously gone for 1940's styles and themes to make him feel at home. An antique radio was positioned in one corner of the room, which was very out of Stark's comfort zone, especially as he was used to having all the latest hi-tech gadgets in his quarters.

"Well thanks," Steve said, "I appreciate it. How are the others?"

"Well Romeo and Juliet are snuggled on the sofa watching some crappy film, Zeus has eaten twice his body weight in poptarts and has passed out on one of the other sofas, I haven't checked on Bruce, still think he needs his space, and you and I are.. in here." Steve laughed at Tony's description of Clint and Natasha as 'Romeo and Juliet'.

"Sounds delightful. Why don't you take a seat over there? Or here if you like?" Steve said, pointing at the chair in the corner of the room, and then at the foot of his bed. Tony nodded and went for the foot of the bed approach, and sat cross-legged on the other side of the double bed.

"I'm sorry for bringing Peggy up, I didn't realise- "

"Stark, it's okay. I didn't expect you to know. I'm sorry I've been a dick to you since.. well, since we met really."

"I've been a bigger dick." Stark said, chuckling.

"Okay, don't brag." Steve smiled.

"Oh my lord, could it be true? The OAP has learnt some 21st century humour?" Tony smirked. Steve giggled.

"You're a strange man, Tony Stark," Steve laughed, patting Tony's shoulder. This was so weird. Last thing Steve knew, he and Tony were practically enemies. Now here they were, alone in Steve's quarters, by choice, just enjoying each other's company. "But I am glad that we might actually have a friendship on the cards here."

"Me too." Tony smiled.

"Hey, it's quarter to three. Fury will want us in the control room soon, you go check up on Bruce, I'll freshen up and get the others."

"Aye aye, Cap'n." Tony said with a wink and a salute as he headed out the door to Bruce's quarters. He hoped the big guy was in a fit state, but Bruce wasn't the only thing on his mind any more. Bruce was his best friend, and he wanted to make sure he was okay, but now he had another friend who mattered equally. Although Tony enjoyed the angry banter with Steve, being friends with have many more benefits. For a start, the cheeky banter could go on for ages and never get violent, and of course, he could teach the Captain more about modern life, and in return, Captain would tell him tales of his father. Tony was looking forward to his new friendship and could only hope that Steve returned his feelings.

Bruce had been laid on his bed for a solid 12 hours and hadn't got a wink of sleep. His thoughts were elsewhere. He still hated himself for what he was, but he knew he couldn't upset his friends by trying anything else stupid. He decided to get up and go in to his lab and actually do something beneficial with his time. Maybe he could find the cure for cancer. That would make him worth something. He got up, and changed into some fresh clothes before stepping out into the bright, white, modern space of his lab.

"Bruce?" Called a familiar voice from the other side of the door.

"Come in, Tony." Tony opened the door, and smiled his huge smile at Bruce.

"How are you, dude?"

"Fine thanks. A bit shook up but I'm fine. How are you?"

"Worried out of my skull," Tony said, pulling the Doctor into a hug, "Even Captain Nostalgia and I made friends over this."

"Wow, that is something." Bruce chuckled into Tony's shoulder. He then pulled away from their hug. "I appreciate you coming to see me Tony, but I'm trying to crack on. I know you could help but, I still want to be alone."

"I understand," sighed Tony, "But you won't have very long. We have our debriefing in about ten minutes."

"Oh shit. Yeah I forgot about that. It's a good job you came in then, Stark." Bruce laughed again.

"Look, Bruce. I need to just tell you something. About last night and-"

"Tony I-"

"No, listen to me. You think you have to change who you are for people to like you but you don't. People like you as you are. Everyone here loves you. Honestly." Tony spoke, looking deep into the Doctor's eyes and patting his shoulder. Bruce didn't know what he was doing, but he found himself lunging at his friend, attacking him with his lips and kissing him passionately. He'd wanted to do that for so long.

"No ... No, Bruce.. No.. Bruce. BRUCE." Tony shouted, pushing the Doctor away, "I'm sorry. But we can't do that. I appreciate that you have feelings for me, I kinda like you too. But there are people I like more and it wouldn't be fair to lead you on like this. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," Bruce said after a long, awkward pause, "I think I'm just alone at the minute. I didn't mean to do that, at all. My head's just messed up."

"Look, dude, it's okay. Come on, we've gotta go to this meeting. You coming?" Tony sighed, edging for the door.

"I'll catch up with you, Tony. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Come on. Don't be long." Tony left the room and closed the door behind him. What the hell had just happened in there? Tony was openly bisexual, well, sexual towards anything with a pulse really, and although he'd thought about Bruce in that way, he couldn't see it happening. Bruce was his science bro, not his science boyfriend. He did care for him a lot more than he probably should, but not in that way. Over the last few months, since the last mission, Tony Stark missed only a few members of the Avengers team, and being back in their company had made him realise how he really felt. Although he'd only just started up a proper friendship with Steve Rogers, he already wanted it to be something else. And he realised how ludicrous that sounded in his head. _Man up Stark, _he thought to himself. And with a deep intake of breath, he set off down the corridor to the control room.


	5. Do You Trust Me?

Thor, Clint, Natasha, Steve and Tony were all gathered around the control room table, in their own little separate conversations, with Fury hovered beside them, looking down at the control room workers. The automatic doors slid open and Bruce waddled out. The rest of the team looked up at him silently with worried expressions on their faces, and to diffuse the tension (and attempt to rekindle their friendship), Tony stood up and embraced the Doctor, saying "Come on, it's only Bruce, don't look so scared." He gestured Bruce to a seat next to him and the team went back to their conversations.

"We're all here? It's about time." Fury said, his one eye studying each of his team mates in turn.

"Yes, sir. Now let's start." Responded the Captain.

"Right. Well team, we have a situation. An army of Stark style drones are storming around in Texas. We have-"

"Justin Hammer? Is he behind this?" Tony asked.

"No Stark. Sit down. We have no evidence that these drones are violent, or even a threat. However we-"

"If they're not a threat, why are we being informed of their presence?" Thor stood up.

"Thor. Sit. The guy who owns the drones, a Mr Gregor Tinnerson, he didn't invent them. He ordered them from another source. But we have reason to believe that he is using them to make something bigger. He runs an car impound yard. Crushes them and makes scrap. We have a hunch that he's gonna crush the drones, make a huge drone, think King Kong size." Fury spread out a file on the desk, with pictures of Gregory Tinnerson and blueprints of the drone designs.

"I liked King Kong. I remember that film." Steve said, smiling eagerly. A weird look from Fury made him apologise and stop smiling. He looked back at Tony though, and they giggled like schoolgirls who'd been told off by the teacher.

"Anyway. If he makes this drone, we're in serious trouble. Although we're not entirely sure what he wants it for, I think we have a way of getting the information out of him." The entire table turned and looked at Natasha.

"Really? I have to seduce this?" She said, holding up a picture of Gregor, who was a round faced old man with straggly white hair and mutton chops.

"You can do it, Romanoff. We have faith," Fury added, "But I'm afraid that's not the only situation we have on our hands. Coincidently, there have been sightings of a certain pale skinned, dark haired God only a few miles from the impound yard. We think he is involved."

"That is impossible. Loki is chained up in Asgard. I have my best warriors guarding him at all times, he has no way to escape. Are you sure it is actually Loki, not just a duplicate? He has been duplicating himself throughout Asgard but one did not think he could duplicate across several galaxies." Thor shouted from across the table.

"It could be a duplicate, but I don't think it is. Duplicate is like a hologram, right? You can put your hand straight through it? Loki's been injured. Some pedestrian recognised him, fired a gun right at him. Caught his leg. We think this is actually Loki." Fury revealed.

"I knew we should have finished him off when we had the chance." Clint said, slamming a fist on the table.

"He is still my brother, Barton, regardless of whether he is a murderous villain or not." Thor said, narrowing his eyes at Clint.

"Gentlemen, please. I have to give you your orders. Romanoff, you head to the impound yard in Texas. Seduce Gregor, find out what you can, by any means necessary, just don't kill him."

"Copy that." Natasha said, standing up and running out to her quarters to get some supplies.

"Tony and Steve, you're going straight to the source of the problem. The company making these drones is called 'Alua', and they're based in Hawaii. You two are gonna go and find out how and why they're making these. If the reason isn't justified, take the entire stock out. Oh and uh, try not to kill each other."

"We won't Fury, we're buddies." Steve said, smiling at Tony. Fury raised one eyebrow at them, confused.

"We sure are. No worries Fury, we'll get the job done. Come on Cap." Tony patted his friend on the shoulder and ran to his quarters to suit up, Steve promptly following.

"What is up with those guys?" Fury asked, Clint and Thor shrugged in response. Bruce just looked as puzzled as Fury was.

"Right, Clint and Bruce, you're heading to Texas to take down the drones that are still walking about. They have a soft spot on the head part of the body, there's a small green circle. Hawk, aim for that with an explosive arrow and it should bring them straight down. Banner, do whatever Barton instructs you to do, but obviously if necessary... Well, you know what do to."

"Yes sir." Barton nodded and went to get his bow and arrows. Bruce gave the director a smile and followed Clint out.

"Thor, you have the delightful job of finding your brother and controlling him."

"Thank you, Fury, one will not disappoint." Thor headed straight for the door and conjured up a whirlwind to take him to Texas. Fury sat down at the now empty table.

"Sir, are you okay?" Maria Hill asked as she wandered over to Fury.

"I'm fine. I'm just getting too old for this." Fury said, stroking his bald head, "Escort Banner and Barton to Texas will you?"

"Yes sir."

* * *

Natasha waltzed up to the gates of the impound yard. She had changed from her all in one skin tight suit to skirt and low cut v-neck tshirt, with a leather jacket and a scarf. She didn't think turning up to a car pound dressed like a master assassin wouldn't get her very far. She'd been given a fake ID, driver's license and car details by Fury, and set off through the gates to the impound cabin.

"Well hello, purty lady, can I help you?" came a voice from the inside as she approached the cabin. A large man wobbled his way out of the door and gave her a toothy grin.

"Hi there, I'm Alison Freeman, I've come to pick up my car?" Natasha said with a smile. She handed him a picture of the car she had supposedly come to collect.

"Well hi there, I'm Gregor Tinnerson. It's sure nice to meetcha, Alison. Can I call you Ally?" He winked at her. She held back the shudder.

"Sure thing, sweetie. You got my car here?" She pronounced slowly, twirling her red hair.

"I think so, I'll have a look in the files, you wait here, pumpkin." He wobbled his way over to a walk in cupboard at the back of the cabin, and disappeared for a few moments while Natasha applied some more bright red lipstick. "Here it is, a red Chevrolet Camaro convertible? Very expensive car... It's about $30,000 isn't it? You must be a very intelligent woman to earn that much." He stated, looking deep in to her eyes, but glancing down every so often at her cleavage.

"I'm smart enough to know that I'm gonna stay around for a while." She winked at him and took a seat beside him in the cabin crossing her legs in her skirt and tights. She saw his attention turn to her legs and he subconsciously bit his lip.

"What you staying for, darlin'? Your keys are right here. You just have to sign this form and you can drive outta here."

"I might not wanna leave yet, there might be... something else I want." She said, looking him up and down seductively, biting her lip as well.

"And what might that be, Ally?" He said, sweat forming on his brow. She gave him a knowing look and moved in closer towards him, licking her lip.

"I want you..." She whispered softly into his ear. He shivered and his eyes rolled back into his head, as she delivered him a blow to the head, knocking him off the chair and on to the floor. She lifted her hand to ear to talk through the earpiece. "Fury, I've got Tinnerson. He's out, but when he comes round I'll get all the information we need."

"Good going, Agent Romanoff. Bring him in." Came the director's voice from the other end.

* * *

"What do you think they are using these drones for?" Steve asked as he soared through the sky, clutching on to Tony's shoulders.

"No idea, Cap. But I think Justin Hammer has something to do with this. He must do." Tony spoke, thoughtfully.

"Who is this Justin you keep babbling on about Stark?"

"Oh right, yeah. Out of your time. Hammer was the weapons specialist for the military a few years ago. But he hired some Russian dude to make drones. Very similar to my suits. But instead of letting these drones work for the army, the drones were used to target me in specific. And then they all sort of, self destructed. I don't know. Can't remember. The Russian guy died. But Hammer's still out there. And I bet he's done some homework."

"Sounds great. Is there no one else it could possibly b- WHOA." The Captain nearly lost his balance and fell off Stark's shoulders, put pulled himself back up.

"Jeez, you alright?"

"Yeah fine. My arms are going numb though."  
"It's okay, we're coming into land. Hold on." Tony said as he swooped down to ground level, and landed with a violent thud. Steve slid off his back gently. "You okay, Cap?"

"Fine. Really. I think I'm gonna hurl. But I'm fine." Steve answered, clutching his stomach. "Come on I'll walk it off. Whereabouts is the Alua factory?"

"Not sure. This island's big enough to cross in about 3 hours. Let's just walk. Need me to hold your hand, pops?" Tony smirked, holding his hand out. Steve batted it away playfully.

"Give over. Are you sure we have time to just wander aimlessly for 3 hours? Ask JARVIS."

"JARVIS doesn't have those settings."

"Are you kidding me? You've invented an AI which understands sarcasm and can control an entire house by itself but it doesn't have a map installed?" Steve asked, raising one eyebrow.

"A map?" Tony laughed, "We use GPS in this day and age, Cap. Now come on, I was joking. I know exactly where we're going."

"Are you sure?"

"Do you trust me?" Tony said, looking deep into Steve's blue eyes. Steve thought about it for a minute. Before, he wouldn't trust Tony with his life. Stark was trouble, and the amount of fights they'd gotten into had led Steve to believe that Tony would take a swing at him whenever he got the chance. But even throughout that period of angst, Steve never hated Tony. If Tony was in trouble, Steve would do whatever he could to save him. He wasn't sure why. Or maybe he was, he was just in denial.

"Of course I do." Steve smiled down at Stark, who was a good foot shorter than him.

"Good. Then follow me, Captain."


	6. The Misson Continues

**Author's Note: Sorry I haven't published in a while guys, but I've had a lot of problems at home and loads of stress. I promise I'm going to keep posting though! I will finish this story if it kills me! Thanks for all your support. Keep reviewing! And enjoy!**

* * *

"So... How long have you been with S.H.I.E.L.D?" Bruce asked as the helicopter hovered over a blanket of hot orange Texan sand.

"I sold my soul to Fury... Jeez I can't even remember how many years ago," Clint chuckled, "That's when you know you're getting old, right? When you've lost count."

"I suppose so." Bruce laughed, looking out of the window on to the vast Texan plains. Clint watched him and saw him sigh. He wanted to ask him what was wrong, but after his little episode the other night, he didn't want to upset the doctor even more. Barton was tempted to ask him how long he'd been with the 'Other Guy', but he figured that would only make things worse, so he opted to not ask sensitive questions. Bruce beat him to it though. "So how did you propose to Tasha?" The doctor said, glancing over at the marksman with a glint in his eye. Clint found himself smiling inappropriately. Whenever her name was mentioned, he went weak at the knees.

"Ah. It was quite basic. It was about three weeks after the last Avengers adventure, and we'd been sparring for about 4 hours. We were resting, and she told me how worried she'd been when I'd been compromised and she realised how easy it would be to lose me. I wasn't even thinking really. I didn't have a ring or anything. I just got down on one knee and asked her. It was a spare of the moment decision but I'd known that I wanted to do it for a long time. I did buy her a ring, like a week later, but she refuses to wear it. Interferes with missions and stuff. She say she 'feels like a cheat' when she has to take it off to seduce men, so she'd rather not wear it in the first place." He was staring in to space aimlessly, a huge smile still plastered across his slowly aging face.

"That's sweet, Barton. That's real sweet." Bruce replied to Clint's speech.

"Dr Banner, Agent Barton, we're in Texas now," Maria Hill called from the cockpit as the helicopter came into land, "So if you'd like to leave the aircraft and carry out your assignment, that would be great. Earpiece us when you need a ride back."

"Sure thing, Hill." Barton said, grabbing his weapons and sunglasses before stepping off the helicopter. Bruce followed him, giving Maria a little wave before the helicopter took off again.

"So... how are we supposed to find these giant robots?" Bruce panted, as he was jogging slightly to keep up with Barton's strides.

"I'd imagine they aren't too hard to spot. You probably can't miss 'em. The clue is in the title really... Giant. Robots." Barton replied, giving Banner a cheeky smile as they climbed up a sand dune.

"Yeah but... Are we just supposed to wander aimlessly across this desert until we find them?"

"We won't have to wander very far." Clint said, removing his sunglasses and pointing out towards the 6 rogue drones skulking about in the heart of the Texan wilderness. Bruce grunted. "Right, Dr Banner, you stay here. We have earpiece so, I'm gonna go to that other sand dune over there, I need a high up point to shoot from and I ca-"

"Can't you just shoot from here?"

"No because they will instinctively walk towards me to take me down, and I don't want to put you in danger as well so-"

"Thanks, Barton."

"No problem. Now I'm going to head over there and shoot as many down as I can before they all run over. That's where you come in. You're my eyes. Tell me if anything comes up behind me. Got it?"

"Got it." Bruce said nervously. Clint patted him on the shoulder and ran across the dunes to the one he had previously pointed at. The six drones were marching in single file. Bruce watched as Clint fired an arrow at one of the drones, the back of the head, as directed by Fury. He was using explosive arrows, and they didn't go off straight away, giving the Hawk a chance to fire another two arrows into the back of two more drones before the fireworks started. A large bang took the heads of the three drones straight off, and the other three turned around to see the destruction around them. They obviously didn't have Artifical Intelligence quite as good as Stark's, as it took them a good few seconds to realise how their fellow robots had been destroyed and another few seconds to realise the source of the problem. All of a sudden, the three metal men stormed over towards the dune where Clint was perched.

"Barton, incoming." Bruce called.

"Yeah, thanks Banner. I'm not blind." Clint replied as the first robot reached him and smacked him with his metal fist, sending him flying straight off the dune.

"BARTON! Are you alright?"  
"I'm... I'm fine." A few more arrows shot over the dune and hit one of the drones, but they didn't attach themselves and the drone suffered no damage. Instead, they headed for Clint with full force, and pummelled him into the sand. Bruce felt helpless just sitting and watching. He knew exactly what he had to do. A burning tingle rippled down his body. He felt his shirt rip and his trousers tear. The pain came again, the pain that came every time he transformed, but he grit his teeth and clenched his fists to bear it. But that only made him more angry. A deafening roar filled the Texan plain, and Bruce Banner wasn't Bruce Banner anymore.

* * *

It didn't take Thor very long to find Loki, as Fury gave him some strange device to track down the God of Mischief. It did, however, take Thor a while to learn how to use the device, as every time he took a step, it would tell him whether he was 'hot' or 'cold'. Although the first few times, Thor had bellowed back at the gadget and told it that he was 'of perfectly normal temperature', he gradually grasped the concept and proceeded to find his brother. The God was calmly walking the streets of a small village when Thor found him, and as soon as Loki caught eye contact with his brother, he started running (or limping) in the other direction. It only took about ten of Thor's huge strides to catch up with his brother, and grabbing him by the scruff of the neck, he took him into an alleyway.

"Brother," Thor spat, slamming Loki against a wall, "what are you doing here in Midgard? How did you escape?" Loki just laughed heartily in his face.

"Thor, you should never underestimate my powers. You might be the almighty Thor, but your little minions are not quite so ... how shall I put it? ... compelling." He smirked devilishly.

"I am in no mood for your silly games today, Brother. Tell me. What is your purpose here on Earth?" Thor bellowed, pinning Loki against the wall by his shoulders.

"Well you know, thought I'd do a bit of sight-seeing, taste some of the local delicacies, that kind of-" Thor lifted the smaller man up by his neck.

"I demand that you start answering my questions, Loki. I am not afraid to hurt you. Now I'll ask again. What are you doing here?" Thor spoke slowly and calmly. Loki choked on his words.

"I'm... working... for... someone...else." He managed to spit out. Thor dropped him, and he curled into a ball in the alleyway.

"Who?" Thor boomed. He kicked his brother gently. "WHO?"

"I don't know. But he promised me glory. Eternal glory." Loki said, standing up slowly, clutching his chest.

"Why are you so easily swayed by the promise of glory? Why is glory the only thing you crave? Do you feel no emotion anymore brother? You used to be so kind, and loving. And now all you are is deceitful and controlling."

"I am the God of Mischief. Deceit is the only thing I am good at." Loki spoke boldly into the brawny man's face.

"You are good at many things, Loki. Never tell yourself that the only things you can do are the things that will cause trouble. You are worth more than this."

"Aw. How sweet of you. But I no longer care what you think, Thor. You might still have faith in me, but how can you have the brutality to lock me away in a prison cell for as long as it takes me to escape, and still consider yourself a good person? You are no better than I am." Loki barked. A sudden anger bubbled up inside Thor.

"I think you will find that I am better than you, brother. Hence why I was to be King, and not you." Thor blurted, but he quickly realised what he had done. Loki's eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched.

"Of course. It's all about you again isn't it, Thor. Father told you why I would never be king, I presume? I am not an Asgardian, Thor. I never have been. MY WHOLE LIFE IS A LIE."

"SO YOU CHOOSE TO TAKE YOUR PETTY PROBLEMS OUT ON THE PEOPLE OF MIDGARD?" Thor thundered, grabbing Loki by the shoulders and shaking him violently.

"No, Thor. I choose to earn my crown, one way or another. And if your precious earth gets caught in the middle of that, it's just collateral damage." Loki spoke calmly, shaking Thor from his shoulders and limping out of the alleyway.

"COME BACK HERE. LOKI!" Thor bellowed. When he realised Loki was going to carry on walking, he sent Mjolnir towards his brother, around to his front, and pulled him back like a boomerang. Thor pushed Loki down on to the floor against the wall. "You will tell me everything. Starting right now."

* * *

Gregor Tinnerson awoke in a strange room which was mirrored on the three side he could see. His hands were handcuffed to a radiator and his head was thumping on the left side. He saw a woman stood in front of him, with red hair, dressed in a skin tight suit. "Ali- Alison... Where am I?" He asked groggily, leaning his head into his shoulder.

"My name is Agent Natasha Romanoff. You are in S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. And you are going to tell me everything I need to know." Natasha said, looking down at the man sat cross-legged by the radiator.

"What? You're a spy?"  
"Kind of." She shrugged, "Now tell me. How many drones did you order from Alua?"

"Um.. I.. I don't remember... I must have taken a blow to the head.." He replied nervously.

"Don't play games with me!" She cried, slamming her hand on the counter beside her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry Alis- Natali-"

"Natasha."

"Natasha. I'm sorry. I ordered some drones.. Not very.. Not very many.. Just... Five or.. Six.. or..Seven. Maybe ten? I don't remember. Don't hurt me." He begged, wincing as she shuffled her feet.

"What do you need them for? What's your plan?"

"I just.. I needed protection.. back up.. an army.. the drones would do that for me without needing to be paid.. I couldn't-" He wailed, tears streaming down his face. Natasha had never seen a man affected this badly by his capture.

"Who did you need protection from?" She asked, kneeling down to his level.

"Lady, I run an impound yard. We have guys coming round all the time threatening to rough me up if I don't give them back their cars. I'm an old man, I don't have the muscle to beat them off. So I needed someone to do it for me. I tried to get my nephew Carlton to do it, but his wife's having a baby and I can't pull him away from his family like that. Premium bodyguards and bouncers needed too much pay, more than I could afford to give, so I bought these drones. They might cost a lot at first but they get rid of people straight away, and they'll last me for years, so they pay off in the long run."

"Why do you need so many? Why not just one or two?"

"Bulk discount. Plus, a smaller number isn't quite so menacing and could easily be taken down. A whole herd of them is harder to destroy." He shrugged. Natasha turned away and lifted her hand to her ear.

"You think his story checks out sir?"

"We'll see," Fury answered from the other side of the mirrored glass, "Keep him under locks for now. We'll deal with him when the others return."

"Yes sir." She turned back towards Gregor. "Thank you for your time, Mr Tinnerson."


	7. In Blood or In Bond

After an hour of reckless searching, Tony Stark was forced to admit he was wrong, and that he didn't know where he was going at all. Of course, Steve took great pleasure in Stark's failure, but not in an undermining way like it used to be before they befriended each other.

"Thought you said we wouldn't get lost, Stark?" Steve asked, raising one eyebrow at Tony.

"Oh please, calm your nerves, Pops, we'll get there. We're just... taking a detour. That's all."

"Some detour. Stark, this island is only about 90 miles across. I've covered more land than that on a bus journey. Now I'm taking charge okay?"

"You are? Jeez, wine and dine me first, Cap." Tony said with a wink.

"Stop it. Now yo-"

"Are you blushing?" Tony asked, holding Steve's head up by his chin to get a clear look at his face, "You are, you're blushing! Aw, now that's adorable."

"STOP IT. Now come on Stark. I don't know why you didn't do this before, some genius, but get your ass up there in the sky, fly about for a bit and lemme know when JARVIS has found Alua."

"Well thanks Einstein, I did think of that, but I didn't wanna leave you roaming about like Bambi without his mother."

"I remember that film. Came out the same year I enlisted." Steve said, a look of nostalgia rippling in his eyes.

"Sounds great, Pops. Now you stay here, and I'll do as you asked. Oh and uh, before I go, one last word."

"What?"

"FONDUE." And with that, Tony soared off up into the atmosphere, leaving the Captain blushing back down on ground level.

"What was that for? How do you even know about that?" Steve asked the playboy through his earpiece.

"Er, are you forgetting who my father was?"

"No of course I didn't, but I didn't think this was the sort of information you shared with your children."

"Oh he didn't share it. I heard him talking about it. With my mother. And then I heard other things and I was deeply traumatised." Tony replied with a shiver.

"Great. Thanks Stark, now I've got mental images of your dad. Anyways, can you see anything yet?"

"JARVIS?" Tony relayed the question to his AI.

"I am unsure Sir. There are five factories on the island. None of which are called Alua. Either the factory is concealed, or it's been renamed."

"Well there's your answer, Cap."

"Right. Hang on." Steve pressed another button on his earpiece, "Fury? You there?"

"Captain Rogers." Came a husky voice from the other end.

"Sir, we can't find the Alua factory. Do you have any specific coordinates?"

"I'll check the system." Fury answered. Steve could hear the tapping of keys on a keyboard and a loud sigh. "No, sorry Cap. You two are gonna have to find it alone. Bear in mind it's an underground factory."

"You're kidding? Why didn't you tell us that... Never mind. Thanks sir." Steve switched back to Tony. "Stark, it's underground."

"Oh for the love of... Right. JARVIS? Initiate underground scan."

"Certainly, Mr Stark." A few moments passed as JARVIS whirred away whilst Tony hovered around in the sky.

"So... Capsicle... I think after we sort out all this Alua crap, we should go for a drink. We haven't had one of those, y'know, since we became friends." Tony asked. He wasn't his usual confident self, and he wasn't quite sure why. He was nervous.

"That would be nice, Stark. But it won't have any effect on me."

"W- what do you mean? What effect?"

"I can't get drunk. It's the curse of the super soldier." Steve sighed.

"Cap, I wasn't taking you for a drink just to get you drunk out of your face. It's just a friendly get together. That's all. S'all it is."

"I believe you, Stark. You don't have to keep trying to convince me it's a friendly thing. I wouldn't imagine it to be anything more or anything less." As Steve spoke those words, Tony knew he wasn't trying to convince Steve of his intentions; he was trying to convince himself. He realised in that exact moment that he didn't just want a friendly get together, but he knew Steve Rogers would never feel the way he felt. At that moment, JARVIS finished his scan.

"Got it Sir. Coordinates are shown on screen." Tony studied them carefully.

"Well I'll be damned."

"What is it, Stark?" Steve asked with a sense of urgency. Tony landed back down beside the Captain.

"It was below us the whole time. You were standing right on top of it." Tony mumbled, slightly out of breath.

"You're kidding?" Steve laughed.

"Oh please, why would I tease you?" Tony winked. The nervous, love-struck Tony had disappeared and the confident, playboy Tony had returned. "Now come on, there's a stairwell over there. Let's go." Tony waddled off in the direction of the stairs while Steve let out a huge sigh before following him.

* * *

The Hulk bounded over, in only two strides, to the opposite sand dune where the three metal monsters were slamming Clint Barton around rather furiously. He instinctively jumped up onto the titanium neck of one drone, and smashing a fist straight through its shell, pulled out some wiring and circuitry which made the robot release an ear-splitting screech. The drone fell to its knees when Hulk delivered a critical blow to the green circle on the back of the head. Sand flew up everywhere as the monster crashed into the ground, and The Hulk pushed up off the shoulder of the drone and leapt on to the arm of the second one, whose head turned to stare at the green beast that was clutching onto his metal bicep. Hulk got a glimpse of Clint who was fighting off the third robot, rather unsuccessfully. He knew he'd have to be quick destroying the other drones, as it became obvious that Barton couldn't take much more pummelling. Heading straight for the circle on the back of the head, Hulk scurried quickly up the arm of the robot, almost like a clumsy, drunken spider, and kicked the sweet spot multiple times until the drone fell. He leapt on to the back of the head of the third drone, but when he went for the circle, the robot shook its giant head, and he lost grip, falling round to the front of the head.

"Bruce, what are you doing?" Clint stammered, unable to lift himself from the sand, his body bloody and beaten. The Hulk turned around to look at his teammate, and roared at him as he ripped out the eyes of the final drone, before scuttling over the top of its head and ramming his fist straight through the green circle, where it came out through the drone's metal face. He hopped off the robot's body before skidding down the sand dune to Clint. He wasn't in a good shape. His face was bruised and swollen, his lip was busted and his nose looked broken, and his body itself was laid in an ungodly position. The scraps of compassion that the Hulk still had in his body went towards hoping that the marksman was still alive. He poked Clint's torso. It was supposed to be a gentle nudge but he obviously didn't know his own strength as Barton jolted into a sitting position. He backed away slightly when he saw the Hulk towering over him.

"Call... Hill..." Hulk managed to spit out, and despite his panting and his deep booming voice, Clint understood him. He made the call to Hill to ask for a ride back, before collapsing back into the sand and falling out of consciousness. Hulk sighed to himself and carried Clint, wedding style, over to the point where the helicopter had dropped them off.

* * *

"Thor, there is nothing to tell. I told you all I can. I am working for someone else. Someone who will give me everything I want and more. You need to stop getting in the way, else you will only get hurt." Loki spat into Thor's face. His angst shone through both his emotional and physical pain, as the wound in his leg was hurting him even more.

"I can look after myself, little brother. You on the other hand, cannot. Tell me. What happened to your leg?"

"You are still the foolish, arrogant man I knew back in Asgard before you were cast out. You are not more mature as your father likes to think, and you are by no means capable of looking after yourself. If you were, you wouldn't need five other people to save the world with you. And what happened to me is none of your business."

"Do not patronise me, Loki!" Thor boomed, "And it is every bit of my business to know what happened. You are still my brother, whether in blood or in bond, and it is my duty to look out for you."

"And locking me in a cage while you swan off back to Midgard is looking out for me is it?" Loki snarled. Thor looked down at the floor. He was ashamed. And Loki knew his 'brother' was now all the more vulnerable to his manipulation. "Did you fulfil this duty? At any point in your life? I only remember one event where you so much as 'looked out for me', and that was when you caught my sceptre, preventing me from falling into that godforsaken abyss. And even then, you didn't do a very good job did you. Did you?" He shouted into Thor's face.

"Just tell me what happened to your leg, brother." Thor mumbled, seemingly weaker and almost guilty.

"I was on the street. Simply walking around. I did nothing to harm anyone. And some, idiotic member of this puny race of people attacked me. Some kind of projectile device was pointed at me, and there was pain, and there was blood, and I ran away as fast as I could. I don't know who did it. I don't want to know, but that's only because I don't want my hit list to get any longer." Loki said, at first with a sigh and a look of compassion, but eventually it became another sinister snarl in Thor's direction.

"Brother, you must tell me who you are working for. Are they of Midgard? Or are they from another world, and you have put all of us in danger once again?"

"Like I said, I don't know. He remained faceless. He just told me my orders and what my prize would be. It is business Thor. This is how the real world works. Since I left Asgard, I don't get everything fed to me on a plate, and it's better this way. I am more prepared. I will be a better warrior, a better hero, a better man than you could ever be!" He barked.

"You didn't see him at all? How did you meet this mysterious fellow? And what orders did he give you?" Thor proceeded to question his brother, whilst ignoring Loki's comments about being the better man.

"I saw his shadow. And his hand when he handed me a list of people to compromise with the sceptre. He wore a ring. A golden ring with a bull's head on it. But that is all I know." He handed waved the list in front of Thor. "Can I go now?"

"I'm afraid I can't risk letting you out of my sight brother. You will have to come back to base with me."

"No. Thor, I-"

"Silence! Now let's go." Thor grabbed Loki's arm, and holding Mjolnir firmly, summoned a thunderstorm to take him back to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters.


	8. Force It Is

"What are you gonna do with Tinnerson, sir?" Natasha asked, walking up to the balcony where Fury was leaning. He looked thoughtfully out over his workers and replied without turning to face her.

"Like I said, we'll see when the others get back. If they have any beneficial information, we can query him further."

"Right. How long do you think they'll be?" She said, nodding slowly.

"Hill's already gone to pick up Barton and Banner so they won't be too long. I gave Thor the CLD so he won't b-"

"The CLD?"

"Criminal Locating Device. So he'll find Loki quite quickly and hopefully, if he has any sense, he'll bring him back here for questioning. Metal boy and the super soldier might be some time though. They've got the hardest job. But y'know. They're capable; it's why I gave it to them."

"Ah. See, in my head, I picture them doing the whole good cop, bad cop routine." Natasha laughed, Fury even giving a slight chuckle.

"Who would be the good cop though? That's the million dollar question." He smiled, facing her for the first time in their conversation.

"Not really sir," she replied without a second's hesitation, "The good cop would be Steve. No doubt about it. He's the nice guy, and everyone knows it. He's a gentleman."

"Don't let Barton hear you saying that." He joked, giving her a mocking serious face.

"He trusts me. And I trust myself. I just know Steve's a sweet kid. Everyone does. Even Stark, somewhere in his heart." She smiled, looking out over the balcony at the many monitors and screens in S.H.I.E.L.D Headquarters.

"Yeah, about them. Do you have any idea what's going on? Last time I checked they were practically enemies. Now they're best friends. I don't understand it."

"Me neither sir, maybe they just patched up their differences. Or maybe it was classic Stark charm and arrogance and Steve's too kind to hold a grudge." She shrugged.

"Very true, Romanoff. See this is why you're on the team. You know exactly what's going on." Fury replied, smiling at her gently.

"Thanks sir, I appreciate it. But I don't know what's going on all the time." She laughed again.

"Sir, this is Hill, we're about to land at Headquarters. We need a medical team up here immediately." Came a voice from the earpiece device. Natasha's eyes widened with horror and Fury looked at her with concern.

"Thanks Hill. We'll be up there right away. Romanoff, come with me. You over there, get your team together. Then get yourselves up to the helipad. Come on, come on!" Fury ordered. He started his ascent up the staircase to the helipad, Natasha hot on his heels, followed closely by about five agents in blue overalls holding med kits and suitcases. They reached the top floor of the building surprisingly quickly, and the helicopter came into land almost as soon as they left the stairwell. "Stay back!" Fury said to Romanoff, and she watched patiently as Hill got out of the helicopter door. She opened the sliding doors at the back and Bruce stepped out, perfectly okay. Natasha was shaking with worry. The med team rushed over, one of them unfolding a stretcher as he ran, and the other four loaded Clint's body on to it. She couldn't control herself any longer. She stormed over, screaming his name, tears rolling down her cheeks. She reached the stretcher and put a hand through his hair. His face was bloody and bruised.

"Clint? Clint, are you okay? Answer me, Clint." She gave him a gentle shake. His eyes opened and he looked up at her wearily.

"Hey, Tasha." He said with a smile, "I'm gonna be okay, right? Don't worry. He saved me." He whispered, pointing at Bruce, who was wearing S.H.I.E.L.D overalls (it was the only spare clothing Hill had in the helicopter). She smiled at him, and he nodded his head modestly. Clint reached up to touch her face before slipping out of consciousness.

"Right come on guys, let's get him down to the ward." One of the medical team insisted, and the five of them pushed the stretcher to the elevator shaft which was opposite the stairwell.

"Damn it, why didn't we take the elevator up?" One of the other team members asked.

"Frantically running up stairs adds more drama, Frank. Now come on." The leader retorted as the elevator doors closed behind them. Natasha took the stairs and managed to beat the elevator. She was waiting as the doors opened at the bottom of the elevator shaft, and she wasn't even out of breath. She followed the team to the medical ward, while Fury welcomed Hill and Bruce back to S.H.I.E.L.D. Bruce soon rushed off after Natasha to see how Clint was doing though, and Fury and Hill had no choice but to follow.

* * *

Steve followed Tony down the stairwell to a dark and dingy room, which led in to another stairwell, and another, and another, until the pair felt like they were so far underground, they would be entering the fiery depths of hell at any moment. One more stairwell and they reached a bright room, with many tables and boxes stacked up. The room was deserted, but it didn't stop Steve cautiously sneaking in, hiding behind piles of boxes and ducking under one of the tables. Tony, however, simply waltzed in like there was nothing to lose. Steve rolled his eyes and stood up from under the table, before following Tony across the room.

"Should we open one of the boxes? Find out what they're making?" Steve asked, slightly jittery.

"We know exactly what they're making, Steve, this is Alua. Unless JARVIS got the wrong place, and JARVIS is never wrong. I designed him remember. He learnt from the best. We just need to find someone and ask them _why_ they're making them." Tony replied, giving him a knowing look. But it would be harder to find someone than Tony thought. The place was absolutely empty, with no sign of life at all. It wasn't like all the workers were on a lunch break or something, they were literally gone.

"Tony, this place is creeping me out slightly." Steve muttered, staying close to Tony. He knew he was probably a bit too close for Tony's comfort, but he didn't care. He was spooked.

"It's okay Cap, I'll protect you." He said cockily, flashing a grin and sending a wink in Steve's direction. Steve was kind of hoping he'd say that, but it didn't stop him blushing anyway. They came to a reinforced steel door that neither of them could open even after several attempts. Tony raised his hand to use his thrusters, but Steve batted his hand away.

"Tony, you need to save your power. What if we end up in a fight with these guys? And don't forget we need to fly home too. You can't waste your power on a door. Stand back." He said, taking a few huge strides back. Tony moved to the side a little, eager to see what Steve was intending to do. Without a second thought, Steve charged at the door and collided with it using his left shoulder. Tony winced a little as he hit the door, and looked over to see if he was okay. Steve was stood coolly as if he hadn't just run into a 7ft reinforced steel door, and his shoulder appeared to be fine. The door on the other hand wasn't in such good shape. It had come off its hinges and was laid on the floor with a huge dent in its centre.

"Nice work, Capsicle." Tony congratulated, before strutting into the room. It was bright and airy in there and the ceiling was significantly higher, at least 10 feet. Although there was still no sign of any workers, it seemed like it had been populated more recently than the other room. Again, there were boxes stacked up everywhere, but they had a different company logo on them. Steve wandered over to one of them and opened it, and to no one's surprise found metal bits and bobs.

"Stark? Can you make anything of this?" Steve asked, beckoning him over to look at the parts he had found. Tony picked up a couple of scraps and eyed them carefully.

"Just looks like the stuff in this box makes a metal arm. Nothing special. Stop getting distracted. We need to find some actual humans in this place." He answered, dropping the parts back in the box, dusting himself off and wandering to another workbench. All of a sudden, they heard voices approaching, the first sign of life in the entire establishment. The voices both belonged to men, although the first was quite high pitched and American and the second was husky and foreign. Tony signalled Steve to get under one of the tables, and as Steve followed his instruction, Tony got under one of the tables himself.

"Will he be joining us soon, Lichini, sir?" The American asked.

"I suppose, whenever that idiot God brings him to us. I told him to be as fast as possible, but I doubt he is the reliable type." Lichini retorted, sharply. Steve put his hands either side of his head like little horns, signalling to Tony that he meant Loki. Tony nodded. "But yes, Jackson, he will be joining us rather soon. Then we can continue with the plan. Where is your team?"

"Lunch break. They've gone out to the city, they'll be back though. In like an hour. And I'm glad he'll be joining us. I can't wait to see the look on his face when we put him in the suit." Jackson chuckled to himself.

"Yes, it will be spectacular. I guarantee. Now, run along, Jackson. Get yourself some lunch and be back here in an hour with the rest of your team to work on the prototype." Lichini insisted, almost pushing Jackson towards the door.

"Um, okay, sir. I will... uh... see you soon? Bye!" He stumbled his words out as he left the room and headed out for the stairwell. Tony peeked his head out from under the table to see what Lichini was doing. The tall man had his back to the tables, and was fumbling around in some boxes, so Tony beckoned Steve and they stood up behind him.

"Hello. Mr Lichini, is it?" Tony queried gently, holding out a metal arm when the man turned around.

"Wow. Nice suit. Impressive. And you two are?" He looked them up and down carefully.

"Seriously? Hawaii is still an American state, right? You don't know who we are? Jeez. Okay, I'm Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. I am also Iron Man. I save the world on a daily basis. You're welcome. Oh and this is Captain Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America. He saves the world with me. We are partners. In crime." Tony said, wandering around the workshop as he spoke. Steve blushed a little at the gap Tony had placed between 'partners' and 'in crime'.

"Ah. Well it's delightful to meet you. But if you don't mind, I am a very busy man and I-"

"Please, sir, we have some questions for you. And it won't take very long, if you cooperate with us." Steve pleaded.

"I'm listening." Lichini muttered.

"We know you're building and selling robots. But what is your purpose?" Stark asked, waltzing toward the man.

"They are just prototypes. We didn't want to sell them as such. But we had no more space for them in the workshop so we pawned them off. Most of them were smelted down anyway. We have a new project." Lichini said in his husky, Italian voice.

"New project?" Steve queried.

"Yes. Did you hear me okay, son?" He chuckled maniacally.

"Don't call me son. You have absolutely no idea." Steve laughed sarcastically before taking a step too close to Lichini. Tony stopped him from getting any closer with his arm.

"I think he means 'do you care to tell us about your new project?', after all, we are very interested. And I'm not bad with electronics." Stark said, grinning cheekily as he gave himself another ego boost.

"No. I don't care to share it with you. And that's great. Go back to your little school projects then, lads. I am fine here, working on my prototype." Lichini added, patronisingly.

"Oh dear. Okay, Lychee or whatever your name is, we're gonna find out what you're doing here if it kills us. So I suggest you get talking else we'll have to use force." Tony smiled.

"Oh, that can be arranged." The Italian spoke, as he pressed a button on the workshop wall. The walls behind him slid away to reveal a giant metal robot, with flamethrowers for arms.

"Whoa. Okay. Force it is." Tony said as he shot off up in to the air.


	9. Out of Our Depth

Clint Barton had only been in the medical ward for a few hours, but it soon became clear that his injuries were rather severe. Natasha had refused to leave his bedside, even though Fury told her he had new missions for her. She simply told him that she wouldn't be able to fight anyone or seduce anyone or even question anyone without breaking down. She needed to be with Clint. The doctors had told her that Clint had a broken arm, three broken ribs, severe head trauma, a fractured ankle and to top it off, possible memory loss. That just gave her more reason not to leave him. She wanted to be the first person he saw when he woke up, so that if he had memory loss, her face might help him remember. She barely slept and she barely ate. She lay sprawled in a bedside chair, watching his heart monitor and hoping that his eyes would open. She'd even started praying. She wasn't religious, but she thought that if there was a God, he would have to take pity on a man who rescued his precious Earth. She was halfway through a rather long and rather personal prayer when she was interrupted by the opening and closing of the ward door.

"Hey. How is he?" Bruce asked, taking a seat on the opposite side of the bed.

"Not much better than he was when you brought him in. He hasn't even woken up yet. What happened to him, Bruce?" She mumbled, her eyes red from crying and her heart weak from hoping.

"There were six drones, he managed to take three down before the others noticed, and they all ganged up on him. I could see them hitting him but I didn't really realise the extent of the damage until I took them down myself. He was just about to lose consciousness as I told him to get the helicopter to pick us up." He explained, rubbing his temples with one hand. Natasha noticed the palms of his hands were slightly darker than the rest of his skin.

"You saved him. Thank you. What happened to your hands?" She grabbed one of them and studied it carefully.

"Ah. Hul- ... The Other Guy thought it would be a good idea to smash through the body of the robots and grab their circuitry. At the time it didn't affect me, but when I changed back, my hands were a little burnt. They aren't too sore, don't worry." He answered her, wincing slightly as she brushed over the surface of one of the burns.

"You should put a freezing cold mix of water and vodka on them. It helps."

"Ha. You Russians. Do you think about anything else?" He replied cheekily in an attempt to make her smile. It worked, and she cracked a little grin, but a glance at Clint lying lifelessly on a bed quickly removed the smile.

"Are you... alright now?" She asked him, feeling a little awkward for asking. Bruce sighed.

"I'm fine. Fury gave me a pep talk. I feel better generally but there are times when I get a bit, y'know. But everyone does now and then."

"Very true, Dr Banner. But I'm glad you feel better. You saved Barton's life. You're a hero." She smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently. "Hey, uh, can you watch Clint? I'm literally gonna walk down the hall and get a coffee. Earpiece me if anything happens."

"I... I thought you were refusing to leave him? I can get you the coffee if you want to stay." He spoke.

"No, I need to get out of this room for a couple of minutes. Besides, there's no one I trust more than you after what you did for him. I will leave him in your capable hands."

"Well, thanks. I'm honoured that you trust me. Especially after what happened on the Helicarri-"

"Bruce, that's the past. No worries. Now stop babbling and look after him. I'll be two minutes." She smiled. She patted him on the back before heading out of the room. She didn't really want to leave Clint, but after Bruce's little episode, she wanted him to know that she trusted him enough to leave him with her most prized possession. Besides, he had saved the man's life in the first place. She trotted towards the end of the hallway where the coffee machine was, and running her hands through her hair, realised she could probably use a shower as well.

* * *

"Fury, I have a visitor for you." Thor boomed as he entered through the doors of S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters, dragging Loki by his arm. Fury turned around with a smile, but when he saw Loki, he rolled his eye and sighed.

"Well if it isn't 'real power'. How are you holding up, little guy?" He mocked.

"I am a God. You are NOT to call me 'little guy'." Loki spat venomously, Thor pulling him back slightly.

"This is my establishment. I am to call you whatever the hell I like. Now you'll be pleased to know that we have a new cage. This one is designed for you. And so Agent Hill will be escorting you there. Goodbye." Loki struggled as Thor passed him onto Maria Hill and a few other S.H.I.E.L.D agents. He gave Fury a dirty look as he was taken away, but Fury just smiled cheekily and gave him a condescending wave. "Good job finding him, Thor. Did you find out what he's up to?"

"My brother is in business with an unknown man. He has been given a list of people to compromise. I have the list here if you care to take a look? And all we know about the man is that he wears a golden ring with a bull on it. Loki has been of no clear use to me." Thor sighed, handing Fury the list. He studied it, and his eye widened with horror.

"Thor, he has been of very good use to you. We know who he is meant to capture, and we can save them before anyone else gets to them. Now, you go with your brother. Make sure he cooperates and enters the cage." Fury pointed Thor towards the corridor that Hill had taken Loki down. Thor set off with a jog and caught up with the agents in no time, just as Loki was presented with his lodgings. He looked at it, disgusted, and struggled with the agents in an attempt to get free.

"Loki. Please brother, do as the agents say." Thor bellowed.

"The dog pens you keep me in back in Asgard are better than this." He retorted.

"I care not. Enter!" Thor boomed again, pushing Loki into the cage that stood before him. Thor had pushed him a little too hard, and he flew from the grip of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents and landed on the floor of the cage in a heap. He turned over, catching his breath, and looked up at Thor with a devastated face. How could his own brother hurt him like that? But he remembered that Thor was no longer his brother, and his devastation turned to hatred. He gave him a dirty look as the agents sealed the door and Thor strutted away.

* * *

The sound of Tony's thrusters filled the air as he shot at the giant robot, but his power had no effect on the metal casing.

"Steve! It's not working!" He shouted from the ceiling of the room. Steve could barely hear what he said, but he figured it out. He had already drawn his shield and a hand pistol and was firing, but that had no effect either.

"How do we kill this thing?" He shouted back up at Tony. The robot had started firing back.

"No idea, just try different methods!" He screamed, sounding flustered as he dodged the flames the giant drone was shooting in his direction. Steve ran to the foot of the robot, where Lichini was sat back in a chair, admiring his handy work.

"What are you doing? Stop this thing!" Steve ordered, pointing at the drone who was now moving out of the wall and starting to walk across the factory floor.

"Me? Me no speaka de English!" Lichini grinned. Steve huffed and stomped back over to the foot of the robot. He looked up at Stark who was still dodging bursts of fire.

"Stark! Get out of there! Come back to floor level, you idiot!"

"No! If I go down there he'll continue to shoot. At least up here, I'm the only one in trouble. I don't want to put you in danger too." Tony shouted back. Steve wasn't sure if Tony meant that like he wished he did.

"This isn't the time for a selfless act of courage! We're a team Stark, but we're way out of our depth here!" The Captain bellowed at him. Steve was right, Tony quickly realised. They were totally unprepared, with no way of defeating this thing. He flew back down to ground level, beside Steve, and the giant robot turned its head to follow him. He ran towards Lichini's desk, beckoning Steve to follow, and they ran past it to the hole in the wall where the robot had come out. The drone had turned around completely and started storming towards them. Lichini realised that the robot's metal feet were heading straight for him, but he was crushed by his own monster before he could move out of the way. "This thing has no remorse, Tony. It's just killed its own creator. We've gotta go." Steve said, panting.

"Right." Stark cried, grabbing Steve's arms and wrapping them around his neck. Steve wondered what was going on until Tony spoke to JARVIS. "Put everything we've got into the jets. We're flying out."

"Yes sir." The AI responded.

"Tuck your head down, Cap." Tony instructed. Steve did as he said and buried his head down, almost into Tony's iron chest, but he wasn't complaining. The jets in Stark's feet stormed up and they headed towards the ceiling. Tony winced as his head was about to hit the concrete on the top of the room, but he made it through, and then through the 18 feet of dirt and stone before they reached the Earth's surface.

"Holy shit, Stark, are you okay?" Steve asked, popping his head back up and shaking the rubble out of his hair.

"Ow. I'm fine. Not so sure about Lichini though. He was the only way we were going to find out anything about those stupid drones and he just died. We can't continue the mission." He replied.

"He wasn't the only way." Steve said, thoughtfully, "There was his sidekick, Jackson."

"Oh yeah. Good thinking, Capsicle."

"Let's go find him. We have some interrogating to do."

"I don't think that's a good idea, wise guy. We should head back to base. Tell Fury what's happened. He might want us to do something slightly more rewarding than chase after some hapless sidekick. Besides, I need a drink after all this. You said we could, remember?" Tony reminded him, a cheeky tone in his voice. Although Steve couldn't see his face, he was pretty sure he'd be doing his signature grin and maybe even a feisty wink.

"Fine," The Captain replied with a smile, "but base first, okay? I refuse to enter a bar with you dressed like that."

"Ooh, first date and you're already telling me what to wear." Tony teased. Steve blushed again. He buried his head so Tony wouldn't notice, but he already had. He chose not to mention it though. He had embarrassed Capsicle enough for one day, and he didn't want to push his luck to the point where Steve would withdraw his decision to go drinking with him. "No worries, Cap. Back to base it is."


	10. This Wasn't A Date

Natasha decided to get a shower after all. She'd told Bruce that she'd be a little longer than expected, but he was coping fine. It wasn't like Clint was a small child who needed babysitting. Bruce was basically watching him sleep. She couldn't wait to tell Clint that when he woke up, he'd be so creeped out.

She stood in direct flow of the showerhead, just helplessly letting the warm water trickle down her body. Her scarlet hair was a deep shade of burgundy when it was wet, and she had often wished it would stay that colour. She closed her eyes, but all she could see was Clint, her fiancé, just lying on a hospital bed. Her fiancé who had proposed because of how easy it was to lose each other, because of how every moment is taken for granted. And that's exactly what she had done. She didn't want to live in Clint's pocket, but she didn't want her space either. When she wasn't around Clint, there was no way of telling she had any connection to him at all.

Maybe she should start wearing the ring.

Who cared what the men she was sent to seduce would think? In fact, maybe it would do her justice. People always want what they can't have, right? So if they see she's engaged, unavailable, they'd desire her even more, making them easier to seduce. Of course there was always the risk that Clint would be the first person her enemies would go for if they wanted to find her weakness. But he could look after himself. Maybe she could have Stark work on the ring, make some kind of homing signal or a tracking device. It was a brilliant plan. In that moment, Natasha decided that the best plans were made when soaked with water; after all, it was raining when she and Clint had their first kiss.

She dried herself off and wrapped a towel around her wet hair. Pulling on some jeans and a t-shirt, she made her way to the door of her quarters. She grabbed the towel from her head and ruffled her hair with it one last time before flinging it across the room and heading back to the medical ward. She passed Maria Hill on the way, who she had grown closer to since the last Avengers mission. As most agents had, Hill merely asked how Clint was doing before scurrying away with some 'urgent business to attend to'. Natasha continued down the corridor until she reached the door of the medical ward, and she walked through the room until she came to the room Clint was staying in.

"Um... Bruce? What are you doing?" She asked. Bruce obviously hadn't heard the door open, as he was sat there with gas and air, which was used for women in labour. He was startled, and looked up at Natasha in horror, like a rabbit in the headlights of a car.

"Uh. I- uh. Um. I was... uh, just t-testing it out. Yeah. You know, I'm a doctor. I was just... making sure it worked." He stuttered. He was slightly dazed from the gas but he wasn't intoxicated enough to think of a valid excuse. Natasha, on the other hand, was laughing hysterically.

"You're a doctor of science, not of medicine, Bruce." She smiled.

"I know a little bit, but yeah, you got me. I was just curious. I wanted to know what it was like." He chuckled. "Clint's fine by the way, he hasn't stirred since you left, and one of the doctors even came in and said he was improving."

"That's brilliant!" She grinned, her eyes lighting up. "Go on then, you. You can leave now. I don't think you should stay in here with all this medical equipment." She laughed, giving him a cheeky wink.

"Right. Yes. Leaving." He stammered, and he set off for the door in a jagged path, stumbling against the door as he tried to go through it. She watched him go down the hallway back towards his private quarters, and rolled her eyes.

"He's crazy, isn't he, Clint?" She said, hoping he could hear her. She had sat down beside him and started stroking through his hair.

"He sure is." He replied, his voice hoarse and croaky. His eyes opened slightly and she smiled uncontrollably.

"You're alright! Oh Clint, I'm so glad you're okay." She squealed, almost leaping on him to hug him. He let out a groan. "Ooh, I didn't mean to- are you alright? I didn't hurt you too much did-"

"Shut up Nat." He grinned at her, cupping the side of her face with one hand and pulling her towards him for a kiss.

* * *

Tony and Steve had arrived at base within the hour, and had told Fury everything that had happened with the robots and the two men. He had told them to take the rest of the night off, which was appropriate considering Tony wanted to take Steve out. Tony had changed into an expensive Armani grey pinstripe suit with a wine red shirt, most of which he had left unbuttoned, so the top of his arc reactor could be seen. He had matched his outfit with a pair of Gucci shoes that were probably more expensive than Natasha's whole shoe collection. He was leaning against the balcony in the control room when he heard a cough behind him. He spun around to see Steve smiling gently, suited and booted in a simple black tuxedo and tie. Tony knew that his outfit would have cost next to nothing, but despite his lack of designer duds, Steve looked ten times better than himself, in Tony's opinion.

"You look... great." Tony uttered, almost speechless. He couldn't take his eyes off Steve, but he knew he'd have to. This **wasn't** a date. This was an innocent drink with a friend.

"Not too bad yourself, Stark." Steve smiled. Thor bounced happily into the room with half a pop tart in his mouth.

"You two look very dapper. Where are you going, might I ask?" He muffled through chews, crumbs and icing stuck in his stubble.

"Just for a drink. Fury gave us the night off so we thought we might as well enjoy ourselves." Steve shrugged.

"Sounds delightful! Mind if I join? One has not had a Midgardian night out in what seems like eternity!" Thor chuckled to himself.

"Sure, you ca-"

"That... won't... be necessary." Tony spoke sternly. Steve looked at him puzzled, but he didn't object. He was almost pleased that Tony wanted to be with just him. Thor looked down at his feet.

"Oh. Okay. I apologise, I meant not to disrupt your outing. I'll be on my way." He mumbled before traipsing back to his quarters. Tony cocked his head to beckon Steve to follow him and they headed outside to the car park, where his beloved Audi was parked nonchalantly in the middle of two separate spaces. They got in and started their journey out.

"So where are you taking me?" Steve asked, looking at Tony from the passenger seat. Tony didn't turn to face him when he replied.

"You'll see when we get there."

"I'm not a fan of surprises, Stark. I had a surprise birthday party for my 12th birthday and I just sat and cried in a corner."

"What, are you really gonna do that in a bar? Trust me. It's a good place, and nothing in there is gonna make you jump." He replied with a smile.

"I hope not."

The two men sat in silence for a few moments, nothing between them but the air which smelt like a mix of both Tony and Steve's colognes, mingled together to make one of the sweetest aromas either of them had ever had the delight of smelling. Steve leant over to the audio player, and attempted to turn the music on by twiddling a few dials, but he didn't get anywhere. Tony giggled to himself as he watched the hapless Captain try to work out 21st century technology, but after a few seconds of smiling, he could see Steve was getting aggravated and decided to help him out. AC/DC came blaring out at them which made Steve jump back into his seat, but Tony didn't bat an eyelid. Steve found the volume dial and turned it down before looking at Tony with a flustered look upon his face.

"Okay I guess some things might make you jump." Tony winked. Steve shook his head and gave a light chuckle as they pulled into the car park of a dive bar on the outskirts of the city. Tony considered opening the car door for Steve, but he had to remind himself that this **wasn't** a date. And even if it was, Steve would probably play the male role.

The pair headed straight for the bar, and soon realised that they were the best dressed people in the building. There were only three other people in the bar, all wearing t-shirts and jeans, and they had strolled in wearing their finest suits. Well, Steve had. Tony had three more suits that were way more expensive than the one he had chosen for tonight.

"Scotch for me please, and for my friend, a... What d'ya fancy, Cap?" Tony spoke to the bartender before turning to Steve inquisitively.

"Just a tap water."

"Oh come on Rogers, loosen up a little. Have a bit of fun." He smirked, nudging him playfully.

"It doesn't matter what I drink, Stark, I won't get drunk."

"Perfect! That means you can have the strongest liquor!" Tony smiled. Steve just tutted and went off to find the perfect seat in the bar. Tony turned back to the bartender, "Forget the scotch, my man. We'll have a bottle of tequila. Each!" The bartender gave Tony a disapproving look before handing him two bottles and two shot glasses. Steve chose to sit in a small booth with red leather seats in one corner of the room and Tony quickly followed.

"Is this okay?" Steve asked, looking for approval of his seat choice.

"This is fine. Why did you want to sit in the corner where no one can see us? Planning on taking advantage of me while I'm drunk and you're not?" Tony mocked, flashing his cheeky grin and taking a swig of tequila straight from the bottle.

"No of course not, Stark. Why do you think I want to seduce you all the time?" Steve asked, a slight smile forming in one corner of his face. He politely unscrewed his tequila bottle and poured a trickle into his shot glass.

"I can read minds, Steve."

"Of course you can." He replied sarcastically, sipping at his glass and then shuddering at the taste of the tequila. It was strong, and tasted vile. "Jeez, what is that stuff?"

"This, my friend," Tony answered, slamming the bottle down on the desk, "is how to make Tony Stark a very happy man." He was already half way through his bottle within a couple of minutes, and his words were already starting to slur. He shuffled in his seat slightly. The booth curved all the way around, but he was sat opposite Steve, so he subtly shuffled around a tiny bit to get a little closer. Steve didn't seem to notice.

Steve had noticed, he just wasn't saying anything. As far as he was concerned, Stark could sit on his lap and he still wouldn't mind. Suddenly, that image flashed in his brain and he began to blush again. _Stop it Steve, _he thought to himself, _now is not the time for these thoughts. It's not going to happen. This __**wasn't **__a date. _

"Are you blushing, Mr Rogers?" Tony asked, rocking side to side slightly, "You are, you're blushing again. Why do you keep doing that? Have you got a condition, or are you just attracted to me?" He attempted to wink, but it just came out as a blink. No matter how charming he was sober, Tony wasn't particularly sexy when drunk. At least, not to anyone but Steve.

"Neither. I just blush a lot." Steve lied. Tony edged his way closer to Steve's side of the booth.

"Are you sure, Capsicle? I don't mind if you are attracted to me. I mean, come on, I am a very handsome fellow. And you've had to spend a lot of time with me recently so it's understandable for those feelings to develop." Tony spoke, rather eloquently to say his words had been slurred not a moment ago.

"Stop bigging yourself up, Stark." Steve complained, but his smile told Tony that he wasn't actually too bothered about his bragging. He edged ever so slightly closer.

"I'm not! Admit it, Rogers. I'm hot. And you want me." He slurred again. Steve sighed.

"Look, you're... You are a very attractive man, but I don't 'want you' as you put it," Steve lied again, "but I won't lie to you. You're a handsome guy, Tony." Tony stopped dead in his tracks. He looked up at Steve with wide eyes. "W-what? What's wrong?"

"You... you called me Tony." He stuttered.

"Is that not your name?" Steve chuckled.

"Well, yes, but you've always called me Stark. Ever since we first met. You've never called me Tony."

"So?"

"So... That proves you want me." He slurred, relaxing back into his seat. Steve let out a hearty laugh. He looked away from Tony and studied his surroundings carefully. The wallpaper was outdated, but not back to the times Steve was comfortable in. The furniture would also be considered quite old, probably ancient by Stark's standards, but it almost seemed modern to Steve. There was even a jukebox in one corner of the room. Tony looked up at Steve's perfectly chiselled face, watching his expression as his eyes wandered around the room. When he found the jukebox, Tony followed his gaze and saw it too. He meandered over to it, stumbling as he went, and found himself leaning upon a barstool before he even got there. When he did make it over to the jukebox, he put in a quarter and selected a track. _You Shook Me All Night Long – AC/DC. _Steve couldn't say he was surprised. Tony spun around to look at Steve, but spun a little too fast and instead ended up doing a pirouette. He eventually got his balance and turned around to look at the Captain, who was laughing because of his little ballet move, but when Tony gestured to his song choice, Steve shook his head. Tony slumped and hung his head in mock sadness before selecting a different track. _Moonlight Serenade – Glenn Miller._

Tony turned to the Captain again and gave him another look as if to say 'What about this one?'. Steve nodded with a smile. Tony sauntered back over to the booth. He wanted to ask him to dance but he reminded himself. This **wasn't **a date. _Screw it, _he thought to himself, _I'm Tony Stark. I do what I want._

"Care to dance, Steve?" He asked, holding a hand out. Steve looked at his palm nervously.

"I don't dance, Tony."

"There's no one around, Cap. Everyone's gone home. It's just you and me. Apart from the bartender, but he doesn't matter. No one cares if you can't dance. Come on." He insisted, pulling the Captain up onto his feet and into dancing position. Steve was uncomfortable at first, but he gradually got into it. "Is this music more your style, Mr Rogers?" Tony asked.

"I don't remember ever hearing this before. I think I was in the ice at this point. But I don't care. It's lovely." He said, adjusting his grip so he was holding Tony as the female dancer. _I knew Steve would play the male, _Tony thought to himself. They were content dancing together in the deserted bar to the point where even Tony had decided to let the music speak for itself. They rocked side to side in silence, pressed up against each other, Tony breathing deeply to take in Steve's cologne.

This **was** a date.

When the song finished, Tony pulled away from Steve's chest and looked deeply into his blue eyes.

"Tony, I-" Before Steve could say anything else, Tony's eyes had rolled back into his head and he collapsed on the floor. "Holy shit! Stark? Can you hear me?" Steve sighed and picked the billionaire up and carried him out of the bar, nodding appreciatively at the bartender as they left. He fumbled in Tony's suit pocket for the keys to his car before loading him in the passenger seat. Steve hoped Tony wouldn't mind him driving his beloved Audi, he never let anyone else drive it.

* * *

When they arrived back at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, it was already half twelve in the morning. No one else was awake. Fury was pacing up and down aimlessly in the control room, but when Steve entered with Tony in his arms, Fury raised one eyebrow and didn't question it any further. Steve headed straight for Tony's quarters, and had to open the door very awkwardly with his elbow seeing as his hands were full. He managed to get in, but only saw a giant laboratory with yet another door. Once again, he struggled to open it at first, but he eventually succeeded. There was a huge bed in the centre of the room, at least a king size, maybe larger. He placed Tony on the centre of it and took off his suit jacket and shoes. He knew he should probably take off his other clothes too, as they looked expensive and he didn't want them to crease, but he knew it would look weird if Tony came around while Steve was tugging his pants off. He lifted the covers from underneath Tony's unconscious body and tucked him in.

"Goodnight, Tony." He whispered softly into the man's ear, planting a quick kiss on his cheek before leaving the room. On the other side of the door, he took a deep breath in and out.

This was the best date **ever**.

**Author's Note: Guys I strongly suggest that you listen to Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller as it really helps to create an atmosphere for the dancing scene. Here's a link: ** watch?v=n92ATE3IgIs


	11. A First Time For Everything

Loki had been pacing up and down in his specially built cage all night. There was a bench in there, and even a small bed, but the God had no desire to sleep. He had been having nightmares over the last 6 or 7 months, and it was always the same one. His enclosure was large, bright, and circular, much like the one Fury had kept him in before, although this one was actually designed for him. It would be hard to fall asleep anyway with the whirring machinery and the bright lights, so Loki was perfectly content just strolling around the edges of his confinement.

He wasn't sure how he felt at that moment. Was he worried that he was in captivity instead of out fulfilling his duty like his new employer wanted him to? No. Of course he wasn't. He was a God. Anything the puny mortal could throw at him, he could throw back ten times worse. He wasn't worried about his punishments for not getting his work done. Maybe he was angry at Thor for dragging him back to S.H.I.E.L.D. again instead of releasing him. Thor still called Loki his 'brother', yet he wouldn't treat him like family and he certainly wouldn't bail him out. Instead he had turned him in, like the foolish boy he used to be. He laughed to himself a little. _And everyone thought I was the deceptive one,_ he thought to himself. Thoughts raced through his mind, possibilities that could have been, things he could have changed about his attempt at taking over the world. If he'd done things properly last time, he wouldn't be in the mess he'd gotten himself into now.

_Ouch._ All of a sudden his leg had a pang of pain. He hadn't taken a look at his wound yet, partly because he hadn't had chance. He went and sat on the bench and removed his leather trousers. He knew one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would be watching, but he was past caring. He saw the gaping wound on the outer thigh of his right leg. He ran his hand over it gently, but it just stung. He tried to use his powers on it, but healing was never his strong point, and he seemed too weak to use any of his powers anyway. Suddenly he heard the door of the room open, and he smirked devilishly when he saw who his visitor was.

"Well if it isn't the mindless beast." He said in his deep breathy voice.

"Loki. Why aren't you wearing anything on your bottom half?" Bruce asked, deterring his eyes from Loki's naked legs.

"I have a wound. No one in this godforsaken place is catering to my needs, so I'm taking matters into my own hands." He grimaced.

"I know a bit about stitching up wounds, if you want me to take a look." Loki just laughed.

"You study gamma radiation, not wounds on the battlefield."

"I wouldn't call being shot in the leg whilst walking the streets of Texas a 'battle wound'." Bruce replied. "If you don't want my help, that's fine. I just thought you should get that seen to. It's gonna get infected if you leave it any longer and then you'll probably be in trouble."

"I don't need medical advice from a man who has no control of his own body." Loki smirked.

"I'd rather have an out of control body than an out of control mind, which is what you obviously have. Now are you going to let me help you or not?" Bruce asked for a final time, trying not to raise his voice as people were still sleeping.

"Fine. But it means you're going to have to enter my 'lair'."

"You mean your 'cage'. It's not exactly a secret cave where you build nuclear weapons, is it?" Bruce mocked, entering the code on the edge of the confinement door. He put a lanyard with a button on it around his neck and flicked a switch before entering the enclosure. He pointed at the lanyard. "This is a teleportation button. If you come too close, or threaten me, or start getting violent, I can press this button and I'll be out of here in less than a second. And don't even think about stealing it and trying to get out. You're the only person it won't work on. Funny that, hm?"

"Don't mock me, mortal." Loki spat, still sat on the bench with nothing on his bottom half.

"I kicked your ass once before, remember? I can do it again. Puny god." Bruce smiled. He walked slowly and calmly over to the bench and sat down beside the God. He picked up his leg and draped it over his own knee before pulling a small med kit out of his pocket.

"Why did you have that prepared?" Loki asked, puzzled.

"I saw you on CCTV. I knew you needed treating, so I brought this with me. What? Did you think I was just strolling around at 2am and thought I'd pay a visit to the mental patient?" Bruce confessed. Loki smiled at him, and Bruce set to work at stitching up the wound.

* * *

The next morning, Thor, Steve, Natasha, and Bruce all sauntered into the common room where they found Tony up bright and early, cooking breakfast for everyone. Sausage, eggs, beans, bacon, mushrooms, tomato, toast; The Full English. He was wearing an apron over his Black Sabbath t-shirt and he was whistling a tune that Steve recognised, Moonlight Serenade.

"You seem chirpy this morning. What's gotten into you?" Bruce asked as he sat down at the table with everyone else.

"Nothing, just figured I should make breakfast. I normally don't cook and I thought I might burn the house down, but I wanted to try. There's a first time for everything." He smiled, watching everyone tuck into their breakfasts. He then turned to make coffees, and Steve walked over to join him.

"What are you doing? Last thing I knew you were drunk and unconscious. I had to put you in your own bed last night. Aren't you supposed to have a raging hangover?" Steve asked, in a low hushed tone.

"I would," Tony laughed, "If I was drunk at all."

"What? You were out cold, I carried you to bed." Steve queried, cocking his head to one side almost like a dog.

"I wasn't drunk, Steve. I've been drinking tequila long enough to not get drunk off half a bottle. I'm not a lightweight."

"Then why did you pretend to be?"

"I'll tell you later. Let's eat with the others." Tony whispered, gesturing to the table, and following instructions, Steve sat down to a hearty plate of food. Tony joined him, and the five of them all started having their own little conversations, the sound of knives and forks hitting the plate echoing between them.

* * *

Natasha chose the film this time, and she curled up on the sofa to watch 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'. The others guessed that this was her inspiration, a kick ass woman who saved the planet many times. Thor sat next to her, stretching his legs out in front of him and letting out a yawn. Bruce sat beside Thor with only one leg stretched out, and the other was resting on top of his knee. Steve had offered to help Tony clear away the plates, and to get some answers out of him.

"So come on. Why did you pretend to be drunk if you weren't?" Steve asked, loading the greasy plates into the sink and turning on the hot tap.

"Do I have to tell you now? Can't I do it later when we're alone? I need to tell you something but it's really hard to say, Steve." Tony replied, collecting the coffee mugs from the table.

"Yes tell me now. Last night couldn't have gotten much weirder. We danced. You pretended to be drunk-"

"You kissed me." Steve froze.

"Y-you were asleep."

"I wasn't. I wasn't drunk, remember." Tony grinned cheekily, "See I knew you were attracted to me."

"I was just being a good friend, Stark." Steve replied with a touch of anger in his voice, getting defensive.

"'Just good friends' don't kiss. Look, Steve, it's obvious we need to talk about this. Can I see you later? Come to my lab around 4 or 5ish, we'll talk then. I have to go work on a new project. Can you finish up here?"

"You're right. We do. Okay, I'll come by. And sure thing, Tony." Steve smiled. Tony's heart missed a beat when Steve spoke his actual name. But he took the kitchen towel from over his shoulder and put it down on the table before mumbling a goodbye to the others and waltzing down the hallway to his quarters.

* * *

In the early afternoon, when the films had finished (Thor had become so captivated by Lara Croft that he insisted they watch the sequel as well), Steve, Natasha, Thor and Bruce all went to the medical ward to visit Clint. He was sat up talking to the nurse when they arrived, and his eyes lit up at the sight of Natasha, like they always did. The nurse excused herself and Natasha ran straight over to Clint, draping over him and wrapping him in a hug. Thor strutted elegantly to the other side of his bed and ruffled his hair.

"It is good to have you back, Barton." He smiled. Clint looked at his friend and smiled back, before turning to Steve and Bruce.

"Bruce, thank you. I never really got the chance to say it at the time, but seriously, if you hadn't got that drone off me, I wouldn't be here. Thanks." Bruce walked over to Clint and patted his shoulder, but Clint pulled the doctor in to a hug, and although Bruce was shocked, he complied. When Bruce pulled away from the hug, Clint gave him another smile before turning to Steve and bowing his head.

"Steve."

"Legolas." Steve chuckled.

"Isn't that Tony's line?"

"Probably, but seeing as he's not here to say it, I thought I'd fill in." He smiled.

"Where is Stark?"

"He's in his lab, but don't worry about him. He's always centre of attention. Right now it's about you. How are you holding up?" Clint sat up a bit, very slowly and with a groan.

"I'm fine. My arm hurts, my rib hurts, my ankle hurts, my head hurts and just... well, everything aches. But yes, I'm fine. I doubt I'll be able to do anything for a while. And my arm is gonna be a pain in the ass when I start archery training again." He laughed. Natasha rubbed her hand through his hair again.

"You'll be alright, Clint." She spoke softly in her calming voice.

"I know." He whispered back. "I do have a headache though."

"I will alert the medical staff right away, Barton! I shall make them fetch water and those small white capsules that make people feel better!" Thor boomed, strolling out of the room to find a nurse, but his loud voice had only made Clint's head feel worse. He grimaced as the God spoke, and the others just laughed at how blissfully unaware Thor was.

"I think we should give the man some peace." Bruce suggested.

"Good idea, Doctor." Steve spoke, nodding his head, "Come on, Bruce, we'll get Thor out of the ward. You coming, Romanoff?"

"I need her to stay, I have to talk to her." Clint said, his voice hoarse and croaky.

"Alright. You take care, Barton. See you soon." Steve said as he ushered Bruce out of the room, "Ma'am" He nodded to Natasha before heading out of the door. She watched him through the glass as he headed down the hallway, grabbed Thor by the arm and dragged him in the other direction. As Thor passed the window, he gave them a hyperactive smile and waved like a six year old at a zoo. She shook her head with a light chuckle before turning her attention back to Clint.

"Right, Tash-"

"No, let me go first. I have to tell you something." She cut him off with one of her dazzling smiles that he went weak at the knees for.

"Sure, anything for you." He said softly, cupping her face.

"I'm gonna start wearing the ring. I need to. When you were unconscious I was so scared that you wouldn't wake up again and you'd never get to see us as an official committed couple, so-"

"So that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about, Tash. I want to be an official committed couple. I want to marry you. As soon as I'm out of this cast," he pointed at his arm, "as soon as I have the energy to place the ring on your finger, whether you want to wear it or not."

"Of course I do!" She cried through tears of joy. "I know we said we'd never say it, because it's for children but... I do love you Clint. I really do."

"I've been dying to hear you say that since we met. I love you too." He smiled up at her, and she leant down for another kiss.


	12. What Will Be, Will Be

**Author's Note: Hey guys, just wanted to say thanks for all your support with this story! I got my 40th follower today and I can't thank you all enough! Keep reading and reviewing, it means a lot to me, even bad reviews let me know how to improve for you guys! So here's the latest chapter, the one we've all been waiting for.. Enjoy!**

* * *

At 5pm, as instructed, Steve walked through the glossy white doors of Tony's quarters. He entered into the lab, which he'd seen for the first time the previous night, but at that time it was dark and eerie. Now, it was bright and airy, machinery operating all over the place, and the smell of engine oil wafting through the air.

"Tony?" Steve called. He heard a faint grunt but there was no definite reply. He walked along a counter in the lab, letting his fingers trail across the surface, ogling all the gadgets and gizmos that Tony had left out. Steve had never seen these things before, but then he remembered that Tony was a genius who invented new things every day, most of the world probably hadn't seen these things either. There were glasses full of random liquids just bubbling away, and Steve had felt like he'd walked into a mad scientist's lair, like he had read about in Enid Blyton novels. Small animatronic claws tried to nip at Steve's elbow as he walked past them, but he moved his arm out of the way. "Tony? Where are you?" He called again, starting to get worried. Although Tony had a track record of being late, how could he be late going to a place where he'd been the whole time? Again he heard a groan. That had to be Tony. He probably had a tool in his mouth and was working on a project at the other side of the room. Steve sauntered over, looking at one of the other workbenches which had a small circular object on it which glowed faintly and was attached to a copper wire. He headed for the object, and he followed the wire down off the counter to... Tony.

"Tony? Tony, what happened?" Steve shouted as he saw his friend lying on the floor against the counter, his face pale and covered in sweat, a hole in his chest where the arc reactor should be. Tony's eyes were rolling back into his head, and this time, Steve knew he wasn't faking anything. "What do I do?" He screamed. Tony didn't reply. He tried to lift his arm but he was too weak, he'd obviously been laid there for some time. A wave of guilt washed over Steve as he thought he might too late, but Tony was obviously conscious, so there was still time. Steve grabbed either side of Tony's head and shook him lightly. "Tony? What do I do? You've got to tell me what to do!" He could feel tears forming in his eyes. He hadn't cried since Bucky fell from the train over 70 years ago. He hung his head, letting the tears fall to the ground, or rather on to Tony's lap, as his legs were outstretched between Steve and himself. He heard a faint cough and he shot his head back up. "Tony?"

"The... The... draw." Tony managed to cough out. His eyes locked on a draw across from him and Steve followed his gaze, wiping the tears from his pink cheeks. He scrambled over to the draw and opened it to find another arc reactor inside it. It wasn't glowing but he didn't care. This might save Tony.

"Do I j-just put it in?" He stammered through tears and worry. Tony nodded faintly, letting out another groan. Steve inhaled deeply to calm his nerves before slowly sliding the arc reactor into the hole in Tony's chest. His hands were large and normally clumsy, but he concentrated on doing the job properly, and his concentration seemed to steady his hands. The reactor clicked into place and started to flicker faintly starting to glow, gradually getting brighter and brighter until it was at full power, and Tony jolted up, gasping for air. He wiped the perspiration off his brow and began panting, letting out a hoarse cough. Steve put his hand on Tony's back, patting him to help him. They sat like that for a few minutes before Tony's breathing returned to normal and he turned to face the Captain.

"Thank you." He said, just admiring Steve. Steve himself expected some kind of witty response and was almost shocked when he didn't get one, but he didn't question it. Tony had been through enough.

"How did that even happen, Tony?" Tony's heart skipped a beat again.

"I was just messing around with my arc reactor. I had an idea that if I changed the palladium around and maybe made some adjustments to the wires, it would make it more efficient. I knew I'd have to be quick because if I took it out for more than two or three minutes I'd probably die, but I lost track of time and I-I wasn't quick enough." He said, sounding enthusiastic about his project at first, but then sounding more and more disappointed as he admitted he was wrong. Steve put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"It's okay. I know this really isn't the time, but didn't you have something to tell me?" He asked, standing up.

"This is as good a time as any. I feel better already thanks to you, I owe you every explanation to every question you want the answer to." He smiled, "But yes, I know exactly what you want to know. But like I said earlier, it's hard to get out. Maybe we should sit down. The only place to sit is on my bed." He wandered towards the bedroom, where his bed had been freshly made that morning by a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. Tony perched on the foot of the bed, beckoning Steve to sit beside him, which he did.

"So what's bothering you? Why did you pretend to be drunk?"

"It sounds stupid. So I need you to understand. And promise that you won't say anything or judge me until I've finished. Okay?" Tony asked. Steve nodded. Tony breathed in and out, preparing himself for what he was about to admit. "I wanted to ask you to dance before we even got to the bar. I just... I like being near you. I like being so close to you that I can smell your cologne. But I knew you wouldn't dance with me if you thought I'd remember in the morning, you probably thought I'd tease you about it like I normally do. So I pretended to be drunk so you'd dance with me. And then I did something really bad. I took advantage of your good will. I pretended to pass out because I knew you'd carry me home. I knew you'd be there for me. The truth is, Capsicle, I like you. A lot. And not in a 'we're great crime fighters' way. And not in a 'let's be friends and braid each other's hair' kind of way. I mean 'I LIKE YOU'. And all the teasing and the flirting and the pretending that you 'want me' was just my way of hoping one day you'd stop me and tell me you liked me too. And it feels really weird saying this out loud after all this time." Tony said. He'd been staring at his feet the whole time, nervous of what Steve would think. He knew this would probably destroy their working relationship but he had to get it off his chest. He finally looked at Steve and was shocked at what he saw. Steve was laughing. _Is he laughing at me, after I've poured my heart out? _He thought. "What are you laughing for?" Tony asked sternly.

"I'm laughing because you went through all that, and faked so much, just to be close to me. If you wanted me to hold you, Tony, you should have just said." Steve smiled, putting a hand gently on Tony's leg.

"And you'd have just let me? You wouldn't have minded?" Tony was puzzled.

"Tony, I would let you do anything. Do you want to know what I really think?" Steve asked, a smile forming on his face.

"Sure." Tony said, bracing himself for the worst, but hoping for the best. He looked at Steve, waiting for him to say something, but it was never Steve's intention to speak. Instead, he moved his hand from Tony's leg to the side of his face and pulled him into a kiss. At first, it was a gentle, shy kiss, but as Tony realised that Cap felt the same way he did, he started to let out his playboy side, and opened his mouth slightly for a more passionate kiss. His tongue entered Steve's mouth and explored like he had wanted to for so long. Steve let out a small groan at the back of his throat and fell backwards onto the bed, Tony climbing over him so their legs were entwined, but Steve pulled away.

"Tony, can we slow this down? Please?" He whispered softly.

"Sure. Um... sorry." Tony whispered back, sliding off Steve's body back onto the bed.

"No, it's fine. I enjoyed it. It's just... we've only just told each other how we feel. I want this to work. I don't wanna be another one of your sluts who you fuck and send away in the morning." Steve said, sitting back up so he was perched on the end of the bed again. Tony sat up behind him and put his head on his shoulder, wrapping his arms around his waist.

"Steve, you would never be 'another one of my sluts' as you put it. You are Captain Steve Rogers. The man I adore. I want this to work too. And I know that you've never been in a proper relationship. So I intend to make this the best one you'll ever have. Deal?"

"So this is an official relationship now?"

"If you want it to be." Tony whispered, nibbling Steve's earlobe playfully. Steve turned to him.

"Of course I do." He let out an uncontrollable smile and kissed the inventor again, sealing the deal. Tony Stark, the rich and famous inventor, was now the boyfriend of Captain America.

* * *

Now that his leg was stitched up, Loki could walk around his enclosure with a slightly less noticeable limp. He had been left alone for over 12 hours since Bruce left after fixing him up. No food, no water. But he was still angry and full of hate, and adamant that he didn't need those things to stay alive. He did, and he knew he did, but he didn't want to come across as weak. He hadn't slept either, but he had barely slept in about 6 months, so that made no difference. Loki wasn't sure if he didn't want to sleep because he was bored of the same nightmare, or because he was scared of it. Either way, he wasn't sleeping tonight, or tomorrow, or at all.

Loki never found himself getting lonely. He didn't need anyone else to comfort him, he was perfectly capable of looking after himself. And if he really got desperate, he could duplicate and have a conversation with himself, but seeing as he told the other guy exactly what to say, he might as well talk to himself in his head. He decided to lie down on the bed he had been given. He was bored of walking around, and it probably wasn't good for his leg to keep putting pressure on it. He wasn't going to sleep. He didn't want to sleep. Sleep was for the weak, and Loki was a strong, independent man, who wasn't in his brother's shadow anymore. He was his own person. But he found his eyes closing, the room getting darker, his eyelids getting heavier, and soon it was impossible to keep his eyes open, but he had to, he couldn't sleep, the nightmares would come. But sleep seemed so enticing...

He awoke in a forest, surrounded by dark, looming trees in different shades of brown. They seemed to stretch on for miles and miles, as far as the eye could see. He could hear a trickling stream somewhere nearby, and he decided to go look for it. He recognised this place. He found the stream, and delved a hand into the cool liquid, splashing it up onto his face, letting the droplets trickle into his awaiting mouth. He took another handful of water and slurped it up, his mouth feeling more refreshed than it ever had. What was this water? Why was it so much better than anything he'd ever tasted on Asgard? He took a third handful and splashed it on his face, but when he opened his eyes, his hands were covered in a viscous red liquid.

Blood.

The entire stream had turned to blood, and from its depths, hundreds of bodies resurfaced, all faces he recognised. Laufey, his own father... A few S.H.I.E.L.D agents, still in uniform... The man from the conference in Germany whose eyeball he had taken... And another man, all in black with a receding hairline – Phil Coulson. These were just a few of the people he'd killed, but the stream was now overflowing with blood and bodies. The blood seeped over the edges of the stream's walls and started trickling towards his feet, hitting his shoes and burning through them, like acid. He watched in horror as the blood travelled up his entire body, burning away his clothes, then his skin, then his flesh, then his bone...

"LOKI!"

He jolted up and found himself laid on his bed in a cold sweat. He thought he'd heard a voice shouting him, but he hadn't, he'd just snapped out of his dream.

"Loki!" Came a voice from the other side of the glass cage. He turned around and saw Bruce rapping frantically on the glass. He watched as he wrapped the teleportation lanyard around his neck and entered the code before walking into the enclosure.

"Are you okay? I saw you on the CCTV, you were shaking like crazy, I thought you were having a fit." Loki sat down on the bench, Bruce sitting next to him. Loki shivered.

"It was simply a nightmare, Dr Banner. I have been suffering from them for several months. Always the same one. But I am fine." He stuttered. Bruce took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around Loki's shoulders.

"You're not fine. Not fine at all. Look at yourself. You're sweating and shaking," He turned Loki's head to face him, "And your pupils are dilated. You're not fine, Loki. We need to get you out of here."

"No, Bruce. This happens all the time. I am very used to it. I appreciate your kindness but you have done so much for me. You need not do this too. Go. Don't worry about me." Loki spoke in a hushed tone, batting Bruce away from him.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Fury asked, storming through the door, Hill at his side, "Banner, what are you doing in the cage with that monster?"

"Fury, he needs medical attention. If you want to keep him here in your little petting zoo I suggest you let me take him to the ward." Bruce said sternly, staring at the S.H.I.E.L.D director with a look in his eyes that made Fury believe him right away.

"Fine. But put him in handcuffs, keep hold of him, and don't let him out of your sight. We'll have agents on standby if he makes a run for it." Fury said, walking up to the cage and entering the code, letting Bruce out. When Loki left the enclosure, Hill cuffed him and sent him on his way with Bruce, who put an arm round him to keep him warm, seeing as he couldn't do it himself now that he was in handcuffs. Bruce was sure that Loki wasn't faking this to escape, he had watched him fitting on CCTV. Loki couldn't have been sure anyone was watching at that precise moment, could he? Bruce just hoped that he wasn't being taken advantage of, he was still too fragile to cope with it if that was the case.

"I really appreciate this you know, Dr Banner. But I am fine, honestly. I can go back to my cage now. I need to pace. That helps. Pacing." Loki uttered as they walked down the mile long corridor to the medical ward.

"Well think of this as pacing, pacing in one single direction." Bruce said with a smile. Loki looked up at him and gave a little chuckle before staring back down at his feet. That's when he realised. Bruce was officially his first real friend.


	13. Any Objections?

**Author's Note: Sorry I haven't uploaded in a while guys! I moved house recently and it's been quite stressful, but everything should be back to normal now. Enjoy this chapter, I DEFINITELY enjoyed writing it... You'll see why. Ehehe.**

* * *

Thor paced up and down in his quarters. S.H.I.E.L.D. really had made the effort with his room, as although the actual furniture was basic, a double bed and a few bedside cabinets, plus a cushioned display case for his beloved hammer, the decor was fabulous. The walls were draped in regal fabrics, reds and golds and dark blues, the floor was marble and there were even marble columns in the four corners of the room. Everything was very regal and royal in an attempt to make him feel at home, but he wasn't sure how to feel. He appreciated the effort, of course he did, but he wasn't sure whether he was homesick or glad that he wasn't there. He liked it in Asgard. He loved his family and his friends, and if you'd asked him a year ago if there was anywhere he'd rather be, he would have grimaced and bellowed 'NO' in your face. But now, there was.

He'd rather be in New Mexico with Jane Foster. He'd give anything just to talk to her. He'd even put up with Darcy swooning over him and taking pictures of him. He had seen Eric Selvig again since their initial meeting as he was working for S.H.I.E.L.D now, but last time Thor had seen him, he was under Loki's control.

Oh, Loki.

His brother was getting worse and worse since he found out he was a Frost Giant. He hated everyone and everything and Thor had no way of stopping him. He'd tried to comfort his brother, but he just couldn't. Nothing he said was right anymore. Thor had been the only one Loki trusted it, but they had betrayed each other and ruined their friendship forever, seeing as that's all they were now – friends. Thor still hadn't been able to stop calling Loki his brother, much to Loki's disapproval, but he was still a brother to him. Thor realised in that moment how hard it must have been for Loki, watching Thor get everything fed to him on a silver spoon while he had to work to even get noticed by his parents. And they turned out not to be his parents at all.

Thor needed to see his brother. He stopped pacing and put Mjolnir in her display case before heading out of the doors and down the hallway to the containment room. He could see Fury through the glass before he even reached the doors. He opened them, but Loki wasn't in the cage.

"What have you done with my brother?" Thor boomed, confronting Fury. He must have moved him to another cell, or worse, had him eliminated.

"Thor, cool it, okay? He's in the medical ward with Banner." Fury spoke, not at all intimidated by the God, but still frantically attempting to calm him down.

"Whatever is the matter with him? He is ill?" A puzzled look crossed Thor's face.

"No idea, Banner just insisted he went down there. What did you need him for anyway?"

"I wanted to make sure he wasn't alone, but it looks like he already has a friend." Thor smiled slightly, although he was a little upset that Loki had found someone other than his big brother to rely on now. He turned his back on Fury and traipsed back to his quarters glumly.

* * *

Steve pulled away from another kiss. He and Tony had been laid on Tony's bed, kissing non-stop for about three or four hours with only small breaks for air. Tony was sat atop Steve's hips, almost straddling him, and both of their lips were red and chapped.

"I think we should stop now." Steve chuckled, pressing his forehead against Tony's.

"I think you're right, I'm gonna have so many cold sores." Tony smiled gently, sliding off Steve's body and landing beside him. "I'm fucking tired. I was still tired from yesterday's battle and then the dancing and the drunk acting, but you! You took it all out of me just then." He turned to face the ceiling and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself." Steve said, turning onto his side and letting his fingers trace the contours of Tony's face and neck, forcing Tony to smile.

"Hm, well you are forgiven, Captain Rogers. It's getting quite late if I'm honest. And I'm really tired."

"Oh. Do you want me to leave?" Steve asked reluctantly, sitting up. Tony's eyes snapped open and sat up as well, taking hold of Steve's elbow.

"No, no. Quite the opposite... I was going to ask you if you wanted to stay the night." Steve gave him a puzzled look. "Not like that, you idiot. Sleep in my bed. Fully clothed if you like, but I don't really mind. I sleep naked so you'll have to put up with me anyway." He managed a wink.

"I might take you up on that offer." Steve smiled, pushing Tony back down and leaning into his neck, leaving a delicate trail of butterfly kisses. A low groan bubbled in the back of Tony's throat, which made Steve smile, knowing the effect he had on Tony. He nibbled gently at Tony's neck until he was growling again, and his breathing deepened and deepened as he put his hand on the back of Steve's head, running his fingers through his hair, pulling at it slightly. That made Steve groan a little.

"That's it, I've had enough." Tony pulled away, turning on to his side and grappling at Steve's shirt.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked, watching as a fire burned in Tony's eyes, his breathing getting heavier and heavier.

"I'm taking your shirt off. Any objections? No? Good." Tony replied cockily, lifting the t-shirt above Steve's head, revealing a set of perfect abs that Tony had been crossing his fingers for. Immediately he bent down over the blonde man and kissed his stomach, letting his tongue taste every inch of Steve's skin. Steve began to breathe heavily too, and his eyes rolled back as he felt Tony's wet mouth move up his stomach to his chest. He arched his back as Tony's delicate tongue found his nipple.

"Oh god, Tony. Y-you have to stop... We- Oh god. We can't." Steve uttered, subconsciously thrusting every so often.

"Are you sure we have to stop?" Tony smiled cheekily as he headed for Steve's other pec, and took his nipple into his mouth. Again, Steve's back arched and he let out a suppressed groan.

"Argh. Come here." He said in a breathy voice, sitting up and pulling Tony's head towards him, kissing him passionately, allowed his tongue to enter Tony's mouth for the first time that night. Tony liked this. Steve had been so gentle with him, but it was obvious that his pecs were his weakness, as he had suddenly become so rough and passionate. Steve turned Tony onto his back and started kissing down his chest – he still had no shirt on after the arc reactor incident.

"I thought you wanted to take it slow?"

"You changed my mind." Steve replied quickly before returning his attention to Tony's chest.

"Jesus, if this is what kissing your nipples does to you, I might permanently attach myself there." Tony joked, but Steve was too in the zone to even listen. All he was focused on was kissing Tony, and he gradually worked his way back up to Tony's face. He tried to bypass Tony's lips and head for the other side of his neck, but Tony wouldn't let him. He grabbed Steve by the jaw and pulled him into a rough, heavy kiss, letting their tongues intertwine but they were both fighting for dominance. Tony delved his tongue deeper and deeper into Steve's mouth, letting his hands explore his body, firmly gripping his shoulders, stroking his abs, scratching his thighs playfully. He let one of his hands wander dangerously close to Steve's crotch... before pushing Steve off of him and rolling over onto his side.

"Wh- what the hell?" Steve asked, almost shell-shocked.

"I told you, I'm tired. Goodnight." He replied cheekily.

"So you got me all worked up, for nothing?"

"That was the plan!" He sang out in an irritating voice. Steve gritted his teeth before breaking out into a huge smile.

"You bastard." He grinned as he slid between the bed sheets beside Tony, cuddling up to him, his naked stomach pressing firmly against Tony's hot back, spooning him gently. He didn't get to sleep straight away though, as suddenly Tony was wriggling. "What now?"

"I told you, I sleep naked. I'm taking my pants off. You don't mind do you?" He spoke firmly.

"Not at all." Steve chuckled, moving back slightly as Tony wiggled some more. They were both under the covers, so he couldn't see anything, but when Tony threw his clothes across the room and Steve snuggled back up to him, he felt a lot warmer. _Fuck it, _he thought as he started to wriggle out of his jeans too.

"That's more like it, Stevie." Tony whispered when Steve snuggled back up to him and he could feel his whole warm body pressed against his own. Steve's arm snaked over Tony's hip, holding him close by the waist, and together, they slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

"Why do you care so much whether I am alright or not? A few months back, you would have torn me to shreds when you got the chance. You nearly did once." Loki said when the nurse had excused herself. He was laid on a medical bed, which he found very patronising as he could stand perfectly well, and Bruce was sat beside him in a chair. The nurse had taken his temperature and given him a hot water bottle before leaving him for the night, as it was already 9pm.

"I care because," Bruce sighed, "We aren't too different, you and I. You think you don't need anyone, that you can look after yourself, and I was the exact same until about a year ago, when I realised that I needed other people just to keep me sane. That's why you're mad. You're practically a schizophrenic. Which is fine. I have another person – well, thing – living inside of me too."

"Yes, I understand that, Banner, but why must you sympathise for me?"

"I don't sympathise for you. I sympathise_ with_ you. I know exactly how it feels to be completely alone, but at the same time, not alone at all." Bruce smiled at him.

"I am not alone. I can duplicate." Loki protested.

"Yes, but you have the power over what they say and do. It's not like talking to another person. It's not a normal conversation like we're having now, is it? You know what he's going to say before he does." Bruce spoke, calmly. He was right, Loki realised. It wasn't the same. It would never be the same. Loki had no one. He had nothing.

"It gets better though, doesn't it, Dr Banner? You say you were in my position, you came out of the other end, perfectly alright." He smiled.

"It's gonna get worse before it gets better, kid. I attempted suicide twice. Before the first one, I had nightmares for about a year, just like you're having now. It doesn't mean you're gonna go down the same path as me and do the same things I've done, but it'll get to the point where you can't take it anymore. You know that, right?" Loki's smile had faded.

"I am aware. But what about the second attempt? What led you to try again? Was that after another year of nightmares?" He asked, sitting up. Bruce sighed.

"The second attempt was under a week ago, in my quarters. I just felt useless. But it's okay. I'm fine. And I don't want to go back into it. I'm not fully recovered yet. Can we talk about something else?" Bruce pleaded with Loki to change the topic.

"Of course, friend. Do you know what, Dr Banner? I'm going to go to sleep." Loki smiled, a weight lifted off his shoulders knowing that he finally had someone he could trust.

"Is that such a good idea? I don't want to have to watch you fitting again, that terrified me enough the first time." Bruce asked, leaning back in his chair.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. You can go if you like. Or you can stay. I don't mind."

"I'd better stay. Fury will get mad if I leave you unattended."

"Ah, yes. Of course. Well, goodnight Dr Banner." Loki said, shuffling down into the bed and closing his eyes.

"Please, Loki. You can call me Bruce, it's okay." Bruce smiled, shifting in his chair so he was comfortable enough to sit for a few hours.

Loki awoke in the same forest as before, surrounded by dark, looming trees in different shades of brown. They seemed to stretch on for miles and miles, as far as the eye could see. He could hear a trickling stream somewhere nearby, and he decided to go look for it. He found the stream, and delved a hand into the cool liquid, splashing it up onto his face. His subconscious told him that this was the moment where the stream would turn red, but to his surprise, it didn't. Instead, he saw a man wading through the water in the stream. It was Bruce. He walked over to Loki, who was still knelt by the water, scooped him up in his arms and took him to a secluded part of the forest.

For the first time in 6 months, Loki hadn't had a nightmare.


	14. He Barely Has A Heart

"Everyone? Listen up. This is Fury." The S.H.I.E.L.D. director announced over the earpiece telecom, "Your assignments aren't finished. The mission is only half done. You've had a little break, now it's time to get back to work. Everyone in the control room immediately, with the exception of Clint of course. Now get to it."

The announcement had woken up Natasha with a jolt, who had been sleeping by Clint's bed all night. She awoke to find she had fallen asleep holding his hand, which brought a little smile to her face.

"Hey." She smiled.

"Hi. You'd better go. Promise you'll come back and tell me what he's making you do?" Clint replied, his voice still hoarse.

"Of course. I won't be long." She planted a kiss on his forehead and squeezed his hand gently before leaving the room, where she bumped into Bruce in the medical ward corridor. He had just walked out of the opposite medical room. "Jesus, Bruce, you look a mess."

"Wow. Thanks, Nat." He chuckled. But she was right, he looked so tired. There were bags under his eyes, and his shirt was creased to hell and back.

"What are you doing out here anyway? Shouldn't you be in your quarters?" She queried him.

"Ah. Yeah, about that. I was looking after a friend tonight. He wasn't well." He said shyly.

"Oh gosh. Lemme guess, it's Tony. He's blown himself up in the lab again hasn't he? See I knew it. I know these things Banner." She laughed. But his face didn't laugh with her, and she realised she was wrong. She peered behind him, through the glass of the medical room and saw Loki lying peacefully in a bed. "Loki? You were up all night with Loki?" She realised she must have come across quite motherly, as if she was scolding a child for getting involved with a bad circle of friends, but in theory, that's what Bruce had done. He'd befriended the enemy.

"He was sick. He had no one. I was just helping him out. Anyway, we can talk about this later. We should get to the control room." He spoke, avoiding her gaze, and setting off down the corridor before she could object. She took one last look at Loki through the glass, and shaking her head in disbelief, set off after Bruce.

* * *

"Good morning." Steve whispered in Tony's ear, leaning over him. Tony was hard enough to wake up in the afternoon, and seeing that it was only 10am when Fury had woken everyone up, Steve realised it would be a struggle. However, almost immediately, Tony's eyes began to flicker open.

"What time is it?" He groaned, rolling over, his eyes not quite open.

"Too early for you, mister, but we've gotta get up. Come on." Steve spoke, running his fingers through Tony's dark hair. His eyes opened when he heard Steve's voice, and seeing his face made him smile. Steve leaned down and kissed him gently. "Come on, Tony. We've got to get to the control room, like, now." He smiled as he turned to sit on the edge of the bed. He leaned over, scrambling to get yesterday's clothes, before standing up to put them on.

"Steve, you have the shapeliest ass I have ever seen." Tony uttered cheekily, sprawling across the bed like a playboy model, the bed sheets just about covering his manhood. Steve gave a laugh before pulling his jeans on. "See now you've spoiled the show."

"Tony, get up. Come on."

"Alright I'm coming. Jeez, first day of being your boyfriend and you're already nagging me." He teased as he stood up to put some clothes on, shooting a playful smile in Steve's direction. He just rolled his eyes and tutted with a smile. He wandered over to Tony, who had put his jeans on and was now messing with his shirt, and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him in close. He gave him another gentle kiss before wandering towards the door. They ventured out into his lab, where Tony took out the spare arc reactor and replaced it with his newer model.

"Ready?" Steve asked, putting his hand on the doorknob which led into the hallway.

"Sure." Tony said, pulling his beloved Black Sabbath t-shirt over his head and heading over to Steve. He opened the door, immediately running into Thor.

"Oh! Hello there, fellow Avengers! How are you feeling this morning?" He spoke, his unusual elegant accent bouncing off the walls of the corridor.

"I'm wonderful!" Tony smiled, glancing at Steve slightly. Steve began to blush a little.

"That is good news! Captain, I see you went to the Man Of Iron's quarters to awaken him."Thor chuckled, "Everyone knows you find it increasingly difficult to wake up naturally, Mr Stark. Anyways, we best be getting to the control room! Let's go!" He bounded off down the hallway like a small puppy.

"Yeah, that's totally why I was in your room." Steve mumbled to Tony under his breath as they followed Thor, making Tony chuckle and nudge him playfully.

* * *

"Hello everyone," Fury said when the five remaining Avengers had seated themselves, "as you know, we still have a lot to do to ensure the safety of the people. This mission is far from over. But with current circumstances, some things are gonna have to change, so you will be paired differently, with different missions this time." Steve looked at Tony with a forlorn look in his eyes at the thought of them being separated. Tony exchanged his glance, but shrugged, knowing that it couldn't be helped and they had no choice. Fury continued. "When you all got back from your last assignments, Hill and I updated all the files and folders with as much information as we could retrieve on the new suspects and such. According to Tony and Captain Rogers, although the drone's inventor, who we believe to be Lichini, has been killed, his sidekick, Jackson, got away. Romanoff, Rogers and Thor, we're sending you three out to find him and bring him back for questioning." He passed a folder with some files in it to Natasha.

"Yes sir." She replied, wandering towards the door and beckoning for Thor and Steve to follow. Thor paraded over straight away, but Steve stood up and squeezed Tony's shoulder as he walked past, Tony giving him a discrete wink. Natasha led them to the medical ward to say goodbye to Clint.

"Stark, you're on engineering. The S.H.I.E.L.D. database system has gone down, we need you to get it back up again. You can install firewalls, make repairs, do some JARVIS type stuff if you like. Do whatever you want with it. Just get the system back up and running, okay?" Fury spoke, turning to look at Tony.

"Sure thing. But there won't be any JARVIS. He stays with me." Tony added.

"Whatever. I have another couple of assignments when you've finished that, as I trust it won't take you long. Just come back when you're done. As for you, Dr Banner, I'm afraid that means you're left with babysitting. You'll be tending to the every need of Clint _and _your new little friend. The medical staff will be doing all they can health wise, but they aren't permitted to run their errands. Besides, this will give you a chance to get to know Barton better."

"That's fine. I like babysitting." He smiled.

"Just make sure you put them on a naughty step before you completely lose your temper, okay? Agent Hill will be on standby if things get too much for you t-"

"Sir, I can handle it." Bruce cut him off, nodding his head slowly.

"Right... Well, when you're not looking after them you can work on some... Science shit or whatever it is you do. Okay guys, you have your tasks. Off you go." Fury exclaimed before turning on his tail and heading out of the room.

* * *

"So... Who's this 'little friend' you've made, huh?" Tony grinned at Bruce, raising one eyebrow. Bruce wasn't sure whether to lower his head in shame as he admitted he'd befriended their rival, or to announce it with his head held high, proud that he could look past Loki's fierce exterior. At the same time, he was still nervous about even _talking _to Tony after he tried to kiss him just under a week ago. But he knew he couldn't let on to Tony how embarrassed he was.

"It's uh – It's Loki." He spoke clearly, staring at him dead in the face. Tony blinked a few times in astonishment.

"Wow. Was not expecting that. Why?"

"We have a lot in common. You wouldn't know, Tony." He replied, a bit too coldly than he had intended.

"No, no, I get it. You both feel trapped and isolated and all. I see that. But... He's still an enemy of the Avengers, Bruce. And now he's working for these people who want to take over the world. You can't trust him." Tony warned, genuinely looking out for his friend.

"It's my trust, I can put it in whoever I want. I know what it's like to not be trusted. Everyone's scared of me Tony. They don't want to give me too much responsibility in case it stresses me out, they don't want to get too close just in case I flip and start a rampage. I do trust him, and you can't change that." Bruce spoke firmly.

"Then that's fine. As long as you're sure. I don't want you to get hurt, Bruce." Bruce let out a condescending laugh.

"Right. Because you totally care about hurting my pride and my feelings." It was a low blow, and they both knew it. But Tony was bound to retaliate.

"Hey, I didn't exactly expect you to pounce on me did I? Besides, I wasn't gonna go along with it and let you think I was interested when I wasn't." He rose from the table.

"Fair enough, but how could you do that and then sit there and say you care about my feelings? You're a jerk, Tony. A big, lying jerk." Bruce stood up too.

"Whoa okay, I'm a jerk am I? A jerk who doesn't care about other people's feelings? Well at least I can control my own, Bruce." He retorted.

"Really? You really wanna play this game with me?"

"You're the one who's arguing with me over the God of fucking mischief! He's a liar, Bruce! How can you take his side?" His voice was getting louder and louder as he spat insults at his friend.

"I'd rather be on his side than yours." Bruce shouted. His breathing was heavy and he was starting to shake.

"Well by all means go, Bruce. I'm sure you'll feel very good about yourself when you realise you've helped destroy the planet." Tony spat.

"Do you know what? Maybe I FUCKING WILL." Bruce shot back, shaking uncontrollably. Suddenly Tony calmed down and looked at Bruce in horror.

"We- we've gotta go. Now. Come on. To your quarters." Tony shouted, grabbing Bruce by the arm and dragging him down the hallway. Bruce looked down at himself and saw exactly what he didn't want to see – his fingertips were turning green. He stumbled after Tony, his body shaking and droplets of sweat forming all over his body, leaning against the walls every so often to steady himself. "Bruce, don't stop moving. Come on we've gotta go, now!" They reached Bruce's quarters and he let out a painful scream, doubling over on the floor of his lab.

"Tony, I'm... not gonna... make it." He uttered, clutching his sides and gasping for air, his voice getting deeper.

"What, I have to carry you? The door is there! Crawl, Bruce, crawl!" He screamed, pointing at the door of the reinforced concrete bomb shelter. He ran towards it and opened the door, peering inside at the cold and dark room before him. "Bruce, come on!" The side of the doctor's face was beginning to turn green. He was crawling, but very slowly. Tony realised that Bruce was right, he wasn't going to make it in time. _For fuck's sake, _he thought. He was one of the only people who wasn't afraid of Bruce, or his alter ego, so in one swift movement, he scooped him up and walked into the concrete room. He placed him down on the floor. "Earpiece me when you need me to get you out." He shouted over Bruce's wails and painful screams. He walked back out of the door, closed it behind him and pressed the 'lockdown' button on the side of the wall. Iron hook type things shot out of the walls and latched onto the door, locking it into place, as a piece of reinforced concrete closed the door on the inside. Tony pressed his back against the wall, letting his breathing even out, closing his eyes as he listened to Bruce screaming inside the concrete room. When the screaming eventually turned to roars, he turned on his heel and walked out of Bruce's quarters.

* * *

Clint sat in his bed. His arm was in a cast and completely out of action. However, the nurse had told him that his ankle was only a minor fracture, and as long as he wore high top shoes, he could start putting pressure on it within a few days. This had made him very happy. Aside from being escorted to and from the toilet with a nurse and a crutch, he hadn't left his bed for about a week. He wanted to be able to sit in the control room and listen to Fury ranting, even if his bad arm meant he couldn't be sent out on any missions. He wanted to wander into the common room and see Steve and Tony bickering over TV channels, while Thor stuffed his face in the kitchen. He wanted to be able to catch Natasha by surprise and sweep her off her feet. He just wanted to get off the damned bed. He'd grown tired of the same four white walls, the heart monitor bleeping next to him in its monotonous tone. Clint lived for adventure, and the only adventure he got in here was guessing which S.H.I.E.L.D agent would walk by the window next. He gazed out of the window, and saw the curtains in the medical room across from him had been drawn.

Someone else was injured? Why hadn't Natasha told him? He sat up and slowly swivelled himself to the side of the bed, letting out a little pained groan as he caught his rib. He lay his feet flat on the floor and pushed himself slowly off the bed. He knew he wasn't allowed to walk for another few days, but since when did the Avengers ever do as they were told? Besides, he needed to know who else was in trouble. He got into standing position and steadied himself on the bed side chair when his foot gave out. _Maybe I should use the crutch this time, _he thought, grabbing the crutch that was leaning against the window. He put his good arm through the hoop and hopped his way through the door and into the hallway. Clint realised that he probably wasn't supposed to barge into the other medical rooms, but if one of his friends was hurt, he needed to be there for them. He opened the door quietly, just in case the person inside was sleeping. But he wasn't.

"You?" Clint exclaimed rather abruptly when he saw Loki sat upright in the bed. He had dark bags under his eyes and his long, greasy hair was sticking up in different directions.

"Ah, hello Barton. It's lovely to see you again." Loki spoke with a hiss. Part of him meant it, he didn't want to be enemies with the Avengers anymore after making friends with Bruce, but part of him loved tormenting the mortals.

"Don't lie to me, you monster. You know, if I was at full health, you wouldn't be sitting in the medical ward. You'd be in the morgue!" He grimaced.

"Look, I apologise for everything I did to you Barton. But I can assure you, I do not want to harm anyone. Not anymore."

"Yeah, yeah. You're a liesmith Loki, lying is what you do! Lying is all you'll ever do." Clint spat. He hopped over to the bedside chair, but pulled it further away from Loki as he didn't want to be anywhere near him. He let out a groan as he sat. "So how did you end up in the medical ward, anyway? Has someone in my team got some actual sense and decided to beat the crap out of you?"

"Quite the opposite. One of your teammates came and saved me from myself." He spoke calmly, almost with a smile.

"Ah, so there's a traitor amongst us. Who brought you here, Loki?" He demanded.

"You can't hurt him. He is a good man. The best out of all of you. At first, he was the one I most despised, but at the same time, the easiest to control. Now he is my friend. And if you lay one finger on him Barton, I am not afraid to do the same to you." Loki said fiercely.

"Wow. You care about him a little too much, don't you? Well it can't have been Thor because you never hated him to begin with. It wasn't Tony, he barely has a heart. There's no way he'd bring you here. So it's either Bruce or Steve. Steve's easy to take control of if you take advantage of his good heartedness, but Bruce is very vulnerable at the minute and he needs a friend."

"Ooh, nice deduction techniques, Barton. I see why I liked you so much when I picked you for compromising." Loki teased.

"Tell me which one did it, Loki. Tell me now." He spat, rising to his feet again.

"If I do, you better not hurt him. You better not do anything. You shout at him, you punish him, you even mention it to him in a discerning manner and I will make you pay a price that is dearer to you than everything you love." Loki growled at him, before sighing and admitting defeat. "But like you said, he's vulnerable at the minute."

"Bruce? Bruce saved you?" Clint shouted. He was fuming. How could Bruce do that? He was such a good man, but all of a sudden he was on Loki's side. Although Clint had intended to discuss the matter with the traitor, he owed his life. He couldn't come down too hard on him. Bruce's good nature had led him to save anyone and anything, and now he was even making sure the enemy was at full health. Clint couldn't be angry with Banner. He excused himself from Loki's room and went back to his own bed, almost shell-shocked at what Bruce had done.


	15. I Think Of You No Differently

"So, what does the file say, Nat? Where are we headed?" Steve asked as they headed out of S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters and towards the flight deck. He was stood beside Natasha, who was leading the way, and Thor was strutting behind them, taking huge strides. Natasha fumbled with the papers looking for answers.

"Back to Hawaii by the looks, Jackson can't have gotten too far. How exactly did he escape?"

"It wasn't exactly an escape. Lichini told him to go for a lunch break, so he left. He probably didn't even know that we were there, let alone that we had a battle with his leader and his pet robot." He recalled.

"Wait... A robot? Is it still there?" Natasha snapped her head up to look at him.

"I completely forgot about the robot. Oh god. We're gonna have to fight it to get in."

"Well, what are its weaknesses?"

"We don't know. Tony's repulsors had absolutely no effect on it, and bullets do nothing. We're completely useless. It doesn't have a weak circle on its head like the ones Clint and Bruce dealt with. It's a new prototype, new and improved." Steve shrugged.

"We'll work something out. If we're lucky, we won't even have to deal with it. Now come on, get in." They had reached the flight deck and Natasha had chosen a jet to take them back to Hawaii. Steve naturally got in the front with her, he had been a Captain for 70 years and didn't look a day over 25, he did what he wanted. Thor climbed into the back, smiling and excited as usual, but unlike his usual self, not saying a word. "Do you remember whereabouts in Hawaii we have to land? Specific coordinates would be great."

"I have a rough idea. Just aim for... this spot." Steve said, pointing at a concrete flatland on the map. He was sure that the stairwell was on concrete. Natasha nodded as she booted up the engine, and they took off from the flight deck.

Several silent minutes passed, but it would only be a half hour journey to Hawaii. S.H.I.E.L.D had some of the most high tech equipment in the world, and therefore, the jets were also considerably faster. Steve was tempted to turn on a radio, but after what happened in Tony's car, he was worried that he'd scare himself to death again. The thought of Tony made Steve smile to himself. He realised that he'd never really hated him, he was just angry and nervous about his feelings. And of course when he discovered Tony reciprocated those feelings, he was overjoyed, and he became his boyfriend. His boyfriend! He smiled a little harder. They hadn't told anyone else yet – he was beginning to wonder if they ever would. Maybe Tony didn't want this to be in the public eye? Maybe he was ashamed? The smile faded from Steve's face.

He'd lived in the forties. Homosexuality was around but it wasn't accepted. It still wasn't! Steve had never even realised he was gay. He couldn't have been, he loved Peggy. But he loved Tony now, more than he ever had for anyone else. He didn't mean to fall in love with Tony. He wasn't looking for a boyfriend, he didn't know he liked guys! He just... fell in love. Regardless of gender. How would the other Avengers react if they found out? Steve had been forced to watch cushy teen movies by Natasha, and he'd seen the female stereotypes who take their gay best friends shopping. Would Natasha make him do that? The guys would be freaked out. Thor and Steve had become close seeing as they both knew next to nothing about modern Earth. Steve wasn't sure if they had homosexuality up in Asgard, but he was sure that Thor would still act a little different around him, but if he and Tony decided they were telling people, Thor would be the first one he told. He almost forgot that Thor was actually with him, he'd been so quiet.

"Thor, you okay back there?" He called, turning to face his friend, who was sprawled on a bench in the back of the jet.

"I am well, thank you, just a little... dejected in places." He spoke calmly, sitting up to face Steve.

"What's wrong?" Natasha asked from the pilot seat.

"Ah. Well... I miss Jane. A lot more than I probably should. It's been at least a year or so since I last saw her, and I promised I would return for her. But I haven't. I've been back to Earth twice since I left her, and neither of those times has it been to see the one I truly love." He turned away from his friends, lost in his thoughts.

"Well this will all be over soon and you can see her then. In fact, as soon as you get a spare minute, you'll have to go and see her." Steve smiled back at Thor, trying to cheer him up.

"But I'll never get a spare minute will I, Steven? When we take a break, Director Fury insists that we stay in the city so we can be called back together easily. And you say it will all be over, but it was all supposed to be over at the end of the last mission. It went wrong! It could go wrong again! It's always just one wrong thing after another!" Thor had stood up by that point, and he was bellowing rather loudly once again.

"Thor, you need to calm down. We're in a jet that's flying about 40,000 feet up in the air, you can't throw a strop right now." Natasha spoke calmly.

"A strop?" He bellowed, confused.

"I think it means you can't become agitated right now." Steve smiled nervously, trying not to anger the god. He had seen Thor's rage, and it was almost as bad as Bruce's.

"If I were to become agitated, you would know about it. There would be mighty thunderstorms all over the land, mark my words!" He boomed, sitting back down on the bench, hanging his head, defeated.

"We're coming into land guys, watch yourselves." Natasha said.

"It's been half an hour, already?" Steve asked.

"It's actually only a twenty minute journey on this particular jet, and we sat in silence for the first 15 minutes. Now buckle up, this might be a little bumpy."

The landing was so bumpy that it reminded Steve of the rollercoaster Bucky had made him ride back at Coney Island.

Luckily, Natasha had landed in the exact place where they needed to be, and not much had changed, giving Steve the impression that the robot hadn't left the factory, as it would never have been able to get through the stairwells without causing any damage. He led the way to the stairwell, where he and Natasha crept down the steps, holding small hand guns to their chests, whereas Thor strode carelessly behind them, Mjolnir secured safely in his right hand. When they finally reached the bottom of the stairwell, they entered the deserted room that Steve and Tony had found last time. But this time, everything had changed.

* * *

Tony was seated in the systems room. It was a very small room, about the size of a small bathroom, and was full to the brim with flashing lights, colour changing panels and high-tech mechanics. Stark was in his element. He's figured out how to get the S.H.I.E.L.D. system up and running again and it wouldn't take much work at all, so he decided to take a quick break before he got to grips with the firewalls. Hill had popped in with a coffee for him, as he had ordered one over the telecom system. She had reminded him that this was S.H.I.E.L.D., not Starbucks, but he didn't seem to care. He sipped at his espresso, sweet and strong, just how he liked it. Just like Steve, now he thought about it. He smiled at the thought of the Captain. **His **Captain. But then he quickly remembered what had happened with Bruce just moments ago, and his smile faded. Bruce's pained screams would haunt him, probably for the rest of his life. Although he was proud of the way he handled the situation, he couldn't help but feel guilty for causing the incident in the first place. But there was nothing he could do about it now. He wouldn't tell Steve. It would only worry him. Besides, Steve didn't know Bruce had thrown himself at Tony, and he didn't want to complicate things this early in the relationship, even if it was before they got together, and Tony had pushed Bruce away. He put his coffee cup back on the table and swivelled in his chair, thinking about his new boyfriend.

_Shit, _he thought, _what about Pepper?_

It had been obvious to the two of them for months that their relationship wasn't really working out, but it probably wouldn't stop her being upset about it. He should probably do it now, before he let Steve and himself go any further. He picked up his phone and dialled Pepper, dreading hearing her voice, but he knew it had to be done.

"Hey, Tony, missing me already?" She teased.

"Ha. You know I do Pep. None of the others are quite as willing to answer to my every beck and call."

"Well, you're not paying the others. Anyway, I'm sort of in the middle of some finances so either tell me what you're calling for, or call back later." He ran a hand through his hair, dreading what he was about to say.

"Look, Pep. I'm sorry but, we're gonna have to call the relationship off. You can still live with me, still be CEO and everything, I just can't do this anymore. It's not been working out." She was silent for about three or four seconds.

"There's someone else isn't there. Have you been having too much fun with Natasha again?" She laughed. _Why isn't she taking this seriously? _Tony thought to himself.

"Pepper, why aren't you making a big deal out of this?"

"Tony, it was never a relationship really, was it? It was convenience. You need me around in order to function, I need the money. The sex was just a bonus. It was never really anything more than that. Not for me anyway." She spoke clearly. Tony was taken aback. Although he'd moved on, and he cared a lot more about Steve than he ever had for her, he did nonetheless care about her. He was shocked to learn that it hadn't meant anything to her.

"Well that's fine then. I suppose. Nice talking to you Pep, I'll let you get on with your... stuff." He hung up without a second thought. He wasn't sure how he felt. He was relieved that he was now free to be with Steve with nothing hanging over his head, but he was upset and angry that Pepper had never considered their relationship to be serious. He knew what would take his mind off it. As soon as Steve came back from the mission, he was taking him out for dinner.

* * *

"Nurse!" Loki called from his medical room. The nurse rushed in straight away, her eyes filled with worry.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Can I go for a walk? I need to get out of this blasted bed." He smiled, mesmerising her with his blue eyes.

"Um... I'm not sure if you're allowed to go alone. You're still under questioning. I will get an agent to accompany you." She smiled as she turned for the door.

"Can't you ask Dr Banner to accompany me?"

"Dr Banner is unavailable at the moment. I will ask Agent Hill to come down." She left the room quickly and Loki was left alone. Bruce was probably doing science stuff with Tony. He was sure that he wouldn't mind an interruption though. Soon enough, Maria Hill entered the room and looked Loki up and down before gesturing for him to exit the room. Once they were outside in the corridor, Loki looked around, and saw Clint frowning at him from the room opposite. He smiled weakly and hung his head, before setting off down the corridor.

"Do you know whereabouts you want to walk to?" Hill asked as she followed him.

"Yes, but I have no idea how to get there. Could you take me to Dr Banner's quarters please?" He said sweetly as he turned to face her.

"I'm not sure if I'm allowed to take you to anyone's quarters without the other person's permission, but you two are quite close, so maybe I can make an exception." She answered him, smiling back. She led him down the long and winding corridor until they reached the personal quarters. She pointed at the door of Banner's lab, again gesturing for him to enter. "I'll leave you here. Earpiece me when you need bringing back." And she turned on her heel and left back down the corridor. Loki knocked on the door.

"Bruce?" He called. He didn't answer. He opened the door and wandered around in the lab for a moment before realising the two doors either side of the room. He knocked on the first door that led into his bedroom. No answer. He headed over to the huge concrete door. "Bruce?" There was no reply, but he heard a roar. Bruce had transformed. He didn't want to go in there after what had happened between himself and The Hulk last time, but he couldn't leave Bruce in his time of need. They were friends now, they understood each other. Loki would have to face his own fears to show Bruce that he trusted him. He took a deep breath and pressed the lockdown button, which raised the concrete from the door and allowed him to open it quietly. When it opened, The Hulk roared again and bounded over to the door in a fit of rage, but upon seeing Loki enter, he stopped and stared at him.

"Bruce, it's going to be alright. You're safe. I'm here." Loki spoke firmly as he stepped cautiously towards his friend with his hands outstretched. He wondered if he could sense fear, because he certainly had a lot of it at that moment. The Hulk roared at him, before pacing around on the concrete floor. Loki wandered closer and closer to the beast, trying not to alarm him too much. He couldn't risk making him any angrier. "What bothered you? What made you angry?" Loki asked, watching as his friend's face screw up and he let out a roar, remembering whatever it was that had angered him. "It's okay, Bruce. It's just you and me here. Nothing's going to hurt you." The Hulk's face softened as he stared at his friend, but he didn't stop pacing. "Look, it's alright. Stop pacing, you're making me nervous. Well, more nervous." The Hulk stopped and stared at Loki again, cocking his head to the side.

"Nervous?" He uttered in his deep voice. Loki gulped and nodded.

"You still scare me a little. After last time." The Hulk screwed his face up again and pounded his fists into the concrete wall, but it had no effect on the structure of the room. Loki jumped as he hit the wall, but he knew exactly why he was doing it. Bruce didn't want to be seen as a monster, and he'd just admitted that that was exactly how he saw him. "It's not your fault, Bruce. It can't be helped. This is the way you are, and I accept that. I think of you no differently." Loki mumbled slowly. The Hulk didn't stop pounding the wall. Loki desperately wanted to get out of there, as he'd felt the rage of Bruce before and didn't really want to feel it again. But a huge part of him didn't want to leave his friend. "Bruce! I am staying here, whether you want me to or not. You are not a monster. You are a wonderful, intelligent man who is brilliant and perfect with every atom in his body! Just calm down. Please." He shouted his final pleas up at his friend. The Hulk stopped pummelling the wall and turned to face him, his face softening again as he processed what Loki had said. He sat down in one corner of the room, his huge back pressed against the cold wall. "I'm going to stay here until you turn back, and then I'll go and get you some clothes." Loki spoke, as he sat down in the opposite corner of the room, studying his friend carefully as he sat slumped in the corner, his shoulders rising and falling quickly as he tried to even out his breath. "You will always be Bruce Banner to me, no matter how angry you get." He said calmly, as the beast started the shrink in size and his fingertips started to lose their green tinge. "Always."


	16. My Problem, Not Yours

Clint had spent most of his afternoon with a Physiatrist, who was teaching him how to apply pressure back on to his foot. He had been given a pair of high top converse to keep his ankle relatively stable, and he was being repeatedly told to walk in a straight line across the room, relying heavily on a crutch. After a while, the doctor told him to put all his pressure on his feet, but still hold the crutch just in case he toppled. There was no denying it, Clint was getting better on his feet very quickly. He wasn't a super-soldier whose cells repaired abnormally quick, nor was he a norse god who used magic to heal himself, and to Clint's disappointment, he didn't even have a metal suit of armour to prevent wounds in the first place. But it became obvious that Clint was a fast healer, and he was walking with only a slight limp within the hour. The doctor allowed him to go for a walk, and seeing as Natasha was out on a mission, he figured he'd go see Bruce. He still owed him for saving his life. But then he remembered that Loki had left his medical room not long ago, and would probably have gone straight to see his friend. Clint really didn't want to see that. He didn't like thinking of Bruce as a traitor, but catching him with Loki would have made things very awkward for everyone. Instead he decided he would pay a visit to Tony, the only other Avenger who had stayed behind.

He hobbled to Tony's quarters and knocked on the door, opening it carefully, and found that he wasn't inside. Instead of snooping around in his lab though, he figured he should earpiece him to find out where he was.

"Stark? Where you at?" He grinned as he switched his earpiece on.

"Ah, Robin Hood, how's it going?" Tony chuckled. "I'm in the systems room, why?"

"Got nothing to do and I'm allowed to walk around. I'm coming over." He ended the conversation, probably much to Tony's confusion. He hobbled back down the hallway and into an elevator which took him to the basement where everything was operated. Opening the door of the systems room, he saw Tony spinning nonchalantly in an office chair, with a small army of paper aeroplanes surrounding him. "Getting a lot of work done I see?" He chuckled, taking a seat on the spare chair.

"You know me too well, Barton. What brings you down here?" Tony smiled, before turning back to the computer in front of him, attempting to look busy.

"Like I said, my foot's getting better so I am now allowed to walk around on it. I was gonna go see Bruce but, I bet he's busy with Loki." Clint frowned, looking at his feet.

"You heard about that too, huh? Well no, he's not with Loki at the minute. Bruce hulked out on me. He's in the bomb shelter."

"You're kidding? What happened?" He looked directly at Tony with a flash of concern on his face.

"He told me about Loki, I told him he was an idiot and he got... Well, he got angry. He's quite defensive over him. I don't know what he's playing at." Tony shrugged.

"Defensive? Huh. Maybe they're ... y'know, together." Clint chuckled. Tony looked at him.

"What do you mean, Barton?"

"I dunno, just a thought but... There's no other explanation for him getting so protective other than he's gay for Loki." He smiled again. Why did he say it like being gay was a bad thing? Tony tried to hide his anger.

"Yes, well.. Bruce is still my friend, and if that's what he's into then that's his decision. I've got a lot of work to do here Barton, so maybe you should run along and play somewhere else." He scowled, turning back to face his computer.

"Oh right, sure. Sorry, Stark. Lemme know if you need anything." He smiled, hopping away.

"Not from you, I won't." Tony waved as he closed the door behind Clint. If this was the way Clint had reacted at the **possibility **of a gay couple on the team, how would it go down when Steve and Tony finally started telling people? Tony tried not to think about it, and instead started a game of solitaire with the computer.

* * *

It didn't take very long for Bruce to return to normal, as Loki seemed to calm him very quickly, but maybe that was his Godly effect. He sat in the corner of the room, awkwardly, holding his legs close to his chest to cover his naked body.

"Uh.. Thanks for staying. I know I scared you." He uttered over to Loki with a gentle smile.

"It's alright. We all have to face our fears some time. One moment, I shall fetch you some clothes." Loki smiled back, pushing himself up from the floor and heading for the door. He was gone for only a few moments before he returned with a pair of trousers and a shirt. They probably didn't go together, but Loki knew nothing of mortal fashion. He tossed them in Bruce's direction. He didn't have a problem with walking over and giving them to him himself, but he thought Bruce might be a little uncomfortable if Loki got too close while he was naked. He turned away while he clothed himself, and turned back around when Bruce said he was finished.

"So... How come you came here anyway?" Bruce asked, buttoning up the last few buttons on the purple shirt Loki had given him. It was his favourite shirt, and he was silently very proud of Loki for picking it out.

"I needed to get out of that bed. I was going insane. Well, more insane." He chuckled. "Your quarters were the first place I thought to come, forgive me."

"No, no, it's fine, Loki. I don't mind. In fact I'm glad you came to see me. I would have been in this state for hours if you hadn't turned up." He walked towards the concrete door, he didn't want to stay in that room for much longer. Loki followed him out of the door and into the brightness of his lab.

"Yes well, I suppose it is a good thing then. So what was it that bothered you so?" He furrowed his brow to look at his friend, hoping that it wasn't something he'd done. He'd managed to push away everyone else, and Bruce was the only friend he had left. He didn't want to ruin this.

"I had an argument with Tony." He replied coolly.

"Stark? But I thought you two were so awfully close?" Loki blinked at him, confused.

"We have our differences. He thinks one thing, I think another. These things happen all the time. It's nothing to worry about. Besides, he helped me get into that room just in time. It was a good job he used his brain else the whole place would be in ruins." Bruce chuckled, before hanging his head slightly, still ashamed that he was capable of causing such damage.

"Oh. Well if you don't mind me asking, what did you argue about? Of course, do not share if you think you will ... turn... again." He asked wearily, watching Bruce's face, reading him like a book. Loki was not only good at lying, but he could tell when others were. Bruce scratched the back of his head and looked away awkwardly.

"Uh... I mean... Don't take it personally Loki, but it was about you." He uttered finally. He was telling the truth. Loki's face dropped. He knew it would be something he had done. Tony must have convinced Bruce to desert the God, and now Loki was alone again, a cast away.

"I see." He said, trying not to show his disappointment, but failing miserably.

"He said I shouldn't trust you, and that I was letting the team down." He mumbled, watching as Loki processed his words. "I told him I didn't care. That you were my friend, and that was all that mattered." He watched Loki looking back up at him, the smile returning to his face.

"R-really?" He uttered.

"Yes. I told him that I can put my trust in whoever I like, and I trust you. And if that turns out to be a mistake then, it's my problem, not his." Bruce smiled back, but Loki had dashed over and wrapped his arms around the Doctor's middle.

"Thank you." He smiled, feeling like his behaviour was slightly inappropriate, but they were friends. Friends in Midgard did this, or so he had been told. Bruce, who at first had tensed up, not expecting the sudden hug, relaxed and let his arms fall around Loki, holding him for maybe a moment too long than friends should hold on for.

* * *

Back in Hawaii, the entire room was empty. All the tables and the boxes were gone, all the tools and equipment that had been left lying around had vanished. The only similarity was that there were still no people to be seen. Steve led the way, creeping through the deserted room, shield in one hand, gun in the other. He made his way over to the archway where the steel door had come off its hinges after he ran into it, and it barely even scathed him. He motioned his head at Thor to enter, and the beast of a man walked proudly into the room, swinging his hammer in his right hand. The second room was empty as well apart from a box that was sat askew in one corner.

"It is safe to enter." He bellowed, his voice almost shaking the very foundations of the room. Steve walked in after him, and Natasha tiptoed behind Steve, still cautious. Where could the robot possibly have gone? Steve rushed over to the one box that had been left behind, opening it frantically. Inside were more robot parts, except these ones were bigger. While he was eyeing the box, Natasha was checking the many hallways and doors leading off from the main room, and Thor was leaning against a wall, not doing much at all. He spied a button on the other side of the room.

"Captain Rogers, do you have any idea what this contraption may do?" He mumbled, pointing at the button. Steve looked up from the box and followed Thor's finger to the button. _Of course, _he thought.

"That button opened up the wall and let the robot out. Maybe he's still in there. Okay, Nat come back over here and prepare yourself. Thor, get the hammer ready, it might be the only thing that can bring this thing down." Steve instructed, as he headed for the button, taking Thor's place. "Everyone ready?... Okay. Brace yourselves." He pressed the button and the walls slid apart as they had before. He backed off, waiting for a sign of life, and sure enough, the giant robot strolled out again. "Fire!" He ordered, both himself and Natasha shooting bullets at the drone, but they bounced off just as they had before. Thor threw Mjolnir towards the drone, and although it made a slight dent, it wouldn't cause enough damage to bring the drone to its knees. The robot began to fire too, and flames danced around the room, narrowly missing Steve.

"Got any other plans, Cap?" Natasha panted, dodging a jet of flames that the robot pointed in her direction. He shook his head, rolling away from the flame, still shooting regardless of its ineffectiveness. Thor turned to them.

"I have. Keep him distracted for a moment." He bellowed, swinging his hammer mercilessly. Steve and Natasha did as they were told, backing away from the drone, making it follow them, still shooting flames in their direction.

"Anytime now would be great Thor." Cap shouted, as the robot got even closer. Almost on command, Thor lifted his hammer and a bolt of lightning shot down towards him. He threw the hammer at the robot, where it made a huge dent, and the lightning covered its metal case, electrocuting it. The robot screeched out an unnatural sound before falling to its knees again. The three of them looked at it, panting, and Thor dropped his arm, almost weak from using the amount of power that he did. The robot had wispy trails of smoke coming from its head, and sparks were still flying off its metal torso. Steve walked over to Thor and patted his arm. "Good job, Point Break." He chuckled, using one of Tony's nicknames.

"So what now?" Natasha asked as she walked around the drone, studying it carefully.

"We look for the sidekick, I assume?" Thor boomed, looking at Steve for approval. Before anyone could answer him, the back of the robot's head lifted off and a loud coughing could be heard. Steve wandered over to the head of the robot, where a hand appeared, grasping at the sides of the head to pull itself out. Soon, Jackson's face appeared, and he looked at the three of them, smiling nervously, before coughing again. He was a tall, weedy man, probably in his early thirties, with a mop of dark blonde hair.

"We don't have to look far." Cap chuckled. He pulled Jackson out of the head and dragging him towards the exit.

"Get off me, I don't have to take orders from you! I'm like ten years older than you, and you're not even a cop!" Jackson screeched, trying to shake from Steve grip, not realising that he had no chance at all. "Son, you have no idea." He chuckled. Natasha lead the way to the stairwell so Jackson couldn't run off, and Thor and Steve strolled behind him to chase him if he did.

"Congratulations, Brother Steve! You have caught the villain!" Thor smiled proudly.

"Not just yet Thor, he needs to answer some very important questions."


	17. Settling Their Differences

The jet landed back at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters within twenty minutes and Thor was the first to step off the plane. He had been put in charge of Jackson, as during the journey it had become apparent that Thor's way of speaking irritated the man, which made him the perfect choice to be his carer. He dragged the suspect off the jet, walking towards the stairwell to take him to Fury. He nodded at Tony and Clint who had gathered on the helipad to welcome the Avengers back. Steve and Natasha came out of the plane together, her face filling with joy when she saw Clint out of his bed with only one a crutch to prop himself up against. She dashed over and gave him a hug that almost knocked the crutch from under him. Steve's blue eyes lit up as he saw Tony, starting to jog over, but then remembered that no one knew about them yet, so instead gave him a nod. Tony patted his shoulder, giving him a subtle squeeze that no one else noticed.

"Glad to see you made it back in one piece, Cap." He chuckled, smiling up at the soldier.

"Only just. You know, I could have died out there." He joked, looking over at Clint and Natasha, who were still hugging, neither of them facing Tony and himself.

"It's a good job you didn't. Who would I be able to call stupid nicknames?" Tony smirked, looking into Steve's blue eyes. Steve nudged his arm playfully.

"Wow, yeah that would have been a travesty. Thank God, I'm alright." He smiled again with a subtle wink.

"Fancy going to the common room?" Tony suggested, turning to Clint and Natasha slightly as well, including them in his invitation.

"Sure." Steve smiled, heading for the stairwell, "I'll race you." Tony ran after him and chased down the stairs like small children. Clint just shook his head as he watched them go.

"I have no idea what's gotten into those two. I still don't understand how they went from enemies to friends so quickly." He smiled at Natasha, his good arm wrapped around her waist.

"Me neither. Oh well, each to their own. Come on you." She grabbed him by the hand and hobbled with him to the elevator, taking him to the common room.

* * *

"Director Fury, I have found the sidekick whom you wished for me to return to you!" Thor boomed, smiling as he entered the control room with Jackson in tow. Fury spun around, his leather jacket bellowing behind him, to face the God.

"Nice job Thor. Hill, you take it from here." He nodded to the agent behind him, who put Jackson in handcuffs and took him to another cellblock, opposite from Loki's. Thor watched her lead him away before turning back to Fury.

"So... uh... is the mission complete? Do we get time off now?" He smiled, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Why? Is something more important to you than the safety of planet earth, Thor?" Fury glared at him.

"Well... Well... No, but... I thought maybe I could... Just... Go away for a bit. There's... There's something I need to do." He lowered his head, knowing that Fury would not let him leave, but it was worth a try anyway.

"Thor, you know you can't leave the city in case we need to call you back." He sighed.

"Yes but-"

"No, Thor. No buts. I'm sorry, but you have to stay here. It's for the best. You can do whatever it is when we're 100% positive that everything is done here. Until then, I suggest you postpone living out this dream you've conjured up." He spat, turning his back on Thor to watch the security cameras again. Thor huffed and turned around, heading straight for his quarters. Unlike his usual self, he didn't stop to wave and smile at every agent he passed, he just stormed down the hallway, his huge, heavy footsteps echoing off the walls and floors. Finally, he arrived at his quarters and slammed the door behind him, leaning against the door. Then he let out a huge roar and flipped over the furniture he had been given, knocking over a set of chairs and tables, ripping apart the bed sheets he had been supplied with, tearing down the curtains that covered his windows, even smashing his Mjolnir display case, tiny shards of glass dancing around on the carpet. He stopped for a moment and looked around at what he had done. There was glass everywhere, furniture turned upside down, strips of fabric and duck feathers scattered across the floor. This wasn't him. He wasn't a violent man. What was happening? Why wouldn't they let him go and see Jane? He sat down against his bedpost, being careful to avoid the glass, and curled his knees up into his chest, before letting out tears that had been bottled up and locked away since the last time he saw his mortal love.

* * *

In the common room, it was Steve's turn to choose the film. Clint and Natasha threw recommendations at him, seeing as he'd have no idea what to pick, but Tony suggested a classic, Titanic, and Steve immediately picked that one. At first Clint had rolled his eyes at the decision, but before long, he was mesmerised by the film, and Natasha was the one rolling her eyes. She had snuggled up against Clint's good arm, so he could wrap it around her. Tony was in the kitchen, watching the screen from a distance, leaning against the counter with a scotch in one hand. Steve was stood with him, giving him a disapproving look every time he lifted the glass to his mouth.

"What?" Tony said after a while, smiling up at Steve.

"It's not even 3pm yet, Stark." He chuckled. Tony rolled his eyes and set the glass down, turning over so he was leaning backwards on the counter.

"Sorry, how long have we been together and you're already telling me what I can and can't do?" Tony flashed Steve a grin which melted the Captain's heart. His gaze flickered to Clint and Natasha on the sofa, and making sure they wouldn't turn around, he quickly kissed Tony. It was very light, very delicate, and very chaste, and he managed to pull away just before Tony tried to deepen the kiss, much to Tony's disappointment.

"That wasn't fair." He grumbled as he scowled at Steve, who was grinning. Teasing Tony would become a hobby, he could tell already. The door of the common room swung open. Tony frowned a little when Bruce sauntered in, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Hi." He muttered. Clint smiled at him.

"Hey. I thought you were... busy."

"Ah. I was, but uh... I managed to control it. I had a little help of course, but I'm fine." He smiled back, slowly walking over to one of the sofas to take a seat. Tony picked up his scotch glass and took another swig.

"What's wrong?" Steve whispered, reading Tony's face like a book.

"Something's happened. Last time I saw him, Bruce was hulking out. I physically had to carry him into the Hulk-proof room. That was like two hours ago. There's no way he could have calmed down this quickly." He spoke, not turning to face Steve, but studying Bruce's every action.

"Wait... what? You were with him when he changed? What got him so angry, Tony?" Tony let out a sigh and put his glass down, facing Steve.

"We had a fight. It was my fault." Steve scowled at him gently.

"You need to go apologise. You're best friends, Tony, you can't let this stew. Go talk to him." Steve smiled, putting a hand on Tony's lower back and ushering him gently around the counter.

"You really think that's a good idea? I don't wanna talk to him. I wanna stay here, drink my scotch, and get surprise kisses from you when no one's looking." He chuckled, digging his heels in to the floor, but he knew he'd be no match for Captain America.

"Nope. Not today. I'm gonna go to the gym. I've got some steam to burn off. You're gonna talk to Bruce, fix whatever you've broken. And when you have, you can come and find me." Steve grinned, pushing Tony around the table before mumbling a goodbye to the others and jogging out of the room. _Thanks, Steve. _Tony thought to himself. But it was now or never.

"Bruce, can I have a word?" He grumbled, watching as Bruce snapped his head up to face him.

"Uh... I ... uh... sure." Bruce said, clambering to his feet and walking over to the kitchen. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. About the whole... you and Loki thing. You're my best friend, Bruce, I shouldn't try to stop you making new friends. And even more than that, if that's where you're going with it." Tony huffed out in one breath. Bruce just stared at him blankly.

"Did I really just get an apology out of Tony Stark? _The _Tony Stark?" He flashed a grin at Tony, who breathed a sigh of relief, taking it as the sign. "I'm sorry as well, bro. You're not a jerk. And of course I'd rather be on the Avengers than Loki's side. And I'm also sorry about the other night. I really didn't mean for that to happen." Tony just shook his head when Bruce tried to bring up the kiss again.

"Nope. Nope. We're not talking about that again. I've moved on, you've moved on, we're all good. Science bros?" He smiled, holding out a hand for the Doctor to shake. But Bruce hugged him instead.

"Science bros."

* * *

Thor took his head out of his hands when he heard a knock on the door. He ignored it though, he wasn't up to facing anyone right now. Whoever it was knocked again.

"Go away!" Thor bellowed. He didn't care who it was. If it wasn't Jane Foster, they weren't worth seeing.

"Brother? Brother please." He heard Loki's muffled voice from the other side of the door.

"Loki?" He stood up and wearily walked towards the door, opening it to see Loki, accompanied by Hill, stood before him. "Come in, come in. Thank you, Hill, I can take it from here." He said, giving her a small smile and closing the door.

"What have you done to this place?" Loki asked, looking around at the mess Thor had caused. Everything was in ruins. Loki had never seen Thor to be so destructive. He turned and looked at him. The only time Loki had seen his 'brother' this miserable was when he tricked him into thinking Odin was dead. "You have been crying, Thor." He announced after a moment.

"Yes, Loki, I have. Not that it is any concern of yours. Now tell me, what are you doing here? I thought you despised me." Thor shrugged, walking past Loki to take a seat on his bed.

"I could never despise you, Thor. I just wanted to come and see you. I needed to tell you something... But it's obvious we need to talk. What happened here?" Loki asked, furrowing his brow and sitting beside Thor. He let out a sigh.

"They won't let me see Jane. I cannot leave this place." Tears began to form in his eyes again.

"Oh no. Thor, it's alright. You are a God. You can do what you want. The mortals cannot control where you go and who you love."

"Yes they can Loki. When we live amongst them, we follow their rules. Why do you think you've been in trouble with them and I have not? It's because I am careful to follow their procedures and not think so highly of myself when I am here." He spat, not meaning to be so rude. Loki never comforted his brother, and Thor didn't really want to push him away.

"I know, and I'm sorry. But I'm trying to be a better person now." Loki pleaded. Thor looked directly at him. He couldn't read Loki, and he certainly didn't know when he was lying, but he looked fairly honest, more honest that he had on previous occasions.

"Why? What's happened, Loki? Something's not right." He spoke, narrowing his eyes.

"For once, Thor, everything is right." He looked away and smiled, kicking his legs like a small child.

"You've... You've fallen in love, haven't you?" It took him a while, but then he smiled, "Haven't you?" He gave Loki a playful nudge.

"I wouldn't call it love just yet Thor. But I am... attached to someone, yes." He smiled back. Thor wrapped his arm around Loki's shoulder, pulling him into a sideways hug.

"This is the most wonderful news. Who is it?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Loki chuckled, thinking of how he had complained to his brother after being hauled around by the Hulk in Stark Tower.

"Go on, little brother. Tell me." Thor smiled, using Loki's happiness as an excuse to call him brother without him objecting. It was obvious that Loki was too infatuated with this mystery person to mind.

"You know Dr Banner?" He replied, looking away slightly.

"You are in love with The Green One?" Thor responded in shock, before smiling again. "This is wonderful! My friend and my brother!"

"Thor, it is but admiration. There is nothing going on between myself and Bruce. You mustn't mention this to anyone, not even Bruce himself, understood?" He uttered.

"Of course, little brother. Anything to see you happy again." Thor chuckled before hugging Loki again. If Bruce made Loki even a fraction less hateful and destructive, Thor owed him the world.


	18. I Can Handle It

**Author's Note: I am so sorry it's taken ages to upload a new chapter, but I've been heavily distracted. I can't promise updates will be as regular as they used to be, but they'll be updated more regularly than this! Sorry again, and please enjoy.**

* * *

Tony entered the gym silently, so Steve wouldn't hear him. He sat on one of the benches behind him, admiring him as he punched at a sandbag, watching the droplets of sweat form and fall from every inch of skin on his body, his clothes sticking tightly to his torso. Tony wished he could sit there forever and watch, but he knew he'd probably have to alert Steve of his presence to avoid a left hook to the jaw.

"Hey, Cap." He smiled, standing from the bench. Steve jumped slightly and turned around.

"Tony, don't creep up on me like that." He panted, wiping the sweat from his forehead, before smiling at him.

"You having fun fighting that imaginary person?" He teased, walking around to the other side of the sandbag, but far enough away so that Steve could hit it without it flying into him.

"Sure am. It beats having to hurt somebody. Did you make up with Bruce?" Steve asked, turning his attention back to the bag.

"I did. We're all friends again. And really? I prefer fighting an actual person. It's very rare that they'll stand there and take it like a bag does. Makes for more practical training." He chuckled.

"Was that a challenge?" He asked, stopping the bag and arching an eyebrow at Tony.

"Uh... No, but sure. Let's fight." Tony stepped into the wrestling ring, and Steve soon joined him. "You're gonna get hurt, Rogers. You're gonna go crying back to Brooklyn."

"We'll see about that, Stark." He smiled.

"So let's just clear this up... Are we boxing or wrestling here? Because, y'know, if you needed an excuse to pin me down and sit on me, you should have just asked." Tony flashed Steve a dazzling grin, which caused him to blush, before he threw a gentle punch in Tony's direction, hitting him softly in the stomach. Tony threw a slightly tougher punch at Steve's chest. "Did you see that coming?" Steve grunted and got back into stance before pinning Tony's arm behind his own back.

"Always know your attack before your enemy does. It's not all about the element of surprise, but also a matter of strategy." He announced before letting go of Tony's arm. There was no denying that they were both enjoying this rough play.

"You really were the right guy for the super-serum job, weren't you Stevie?" He grinned, before throwing another punch at his stomach. Steve threw a few reflexive hits at Tony's torso, being careful to be softer than he had been with the bag.

"You know, you're pretty good without your big iron suit." He smiled before pinning Tony's hands behind him again. "Prove to me that you don't just need to rely on the machine." Tony wrapped a leg around one of Steve's, tripping him over, but seeing as Steve still had hold of him, he fell directly on top of him.

"Okay so that didn't go to plan." He chuckled. Steve rolled them over, putting all of his weight on Tony before tightening his grip on his arms.

"You didn't think this move through, did you Tony?"

"Oh, I did. Maybe this is exactly where I wanted you." He grinned.

"Is that so?" Steve teased, biting his lip.

"Well I don't see you complaining. By the way, you look really good from this angle. You should lay on top of me more often, Captain." Tony smiled again, looking him up and down.

"I might take you up on that offer." Steve grinned before leaning in to softly kiss his boyfriend. Tony moved his hands out of Steve's grip and moved one to around his waist, the other to the back of his head, tangling his fingers in his blond hair. Steve felt himself pushing at Tony's lips, wanting more, his hands finding the other man's face. Tony nibbled at Steve's lower lip gently before letting his tongue dart into his mouth, making Steve let out a whimper. He let out a groan as his tongue explored Steve's mouth, his hand gently tugging Steve's hair as he pulled himself up into sitting position, before rolling over so he was straddling Steve. He grabbed Steve's hands and pinned them down either side of his torso before deepening the kiss further. Steve moaned brokenly, his lips lifting themselves up to accept Tony's warm mouth. His mouth sucked at Tony's lower lip as he felt his stomach tighten with excitement. Tony broke the kiss momentarily to kiss down from Steve's mouth to his neck, at first leaving a delicate trail of small kisses, but then kissing his neck more and more passionately, arching his back subconsciously.

"Jesus… T-Tony…" Steve mumbled as Tony kissed his neck. Tony pulled away to look at Steve, biting his lip.

"You alright there, Cap?" He grinned. Steve looked at him, his lips red and his pupils dilated, still panting.

"What do you think?"

"I think you might be a little tense. Something got you worked up?" He teased, shooting Steve a little wink as he slid off his body and settled beside him. Steve gave a little grunt and a nod as he lay catching his breath. The pair of them laid in silence for a few moments, before Steve turned on his side to face Tony.

"When are we going to start telling people? Y'know, about us?" His face was still red from the kissing, but his expression looked almost nervous at what Tony was going to say.

"Whenever you're ready, Cap." He smiled, grabbing and squeezing Steve's hand gently. "But let's just clear this up... When you say 'telling people', you mean friends right, not going public?" Steve looked at him with concern.

"Why? Are you ashamed of me? You don't want the world to know?" He frowned.

"No, of course it's not that. It's just... I've lived my whole life in the public eye. I know that I can handle whatever shit the press throws at me. I just don't want it to get too much for you. I don't want you to get freaked out by the crap they write, Steve. If they don't get juicy stories, they start making stuff up." Tony sighed.

"Of course I can handle it, Tony. I have been in the press you know. I did a world tour with the USO. I've been photographed, interviewed, stalked... You name it, I've been through it." He grinned, flicking a piece of Tony's loose hair out of his face.

"Times have changed since then Steve. They don't just follow you down the street for ten seconds and then go away when they realise they're not gonna get an answer. They will wait outside our house, pounce us at our most vulnerable, just sitting and waiting. I'm all for doing this if you are, but I just need you to be prepared for this." He sighed again. He knew that Steve's kind heartedness would lead him to say he could cope with it, but he also knew that he wouldn't be able to. He could barely cope with modern life when they were alone at Headquarters, never mind being out in the real world with paparazzi surrounding them constantly.

"Tony, you have to trust me here. I'm not ashamed of this. And all we have to do is ignore them. The problem will eventually go away. And if, for some reason, it does all get too much, our relationship isn't going to suffer because of that. I promise you." He smiled, kissing Tony's forehead gently. He smiled up at Steve, and before he could stop himself, he blurted out a few words.

"Steve, I love you." Steve looked at him, shocked, before breaking out into a huge smile.

"And I love you." He grinned, pressing his lips to Tony's gently, and embracing him in a hug.

* * *

Clint and Natasha had settled into the common room, happily snuggled up together, despite Clint's many injuries. Her head was resting on his shoulder as they watched Titanic, not even bothered that Steve and Tony had left ages ago. Bruce was sat on one of the other sofas beside them, laying flat on his back, staring at the ceiling. He was not at all interested in the film, but he wasn't bored enough to leave. He was quite enjoying the background music as he disappeared into his own thoughts. Thoughts of attempting to kiss Tony. He realised now that that had been a mistake. He was lonely and vulnerable after his suicide attempt, and he took a leap of faith in Tony, that clearly wasn't reciprocated. He wasn't half as attracted to Tony as his brain had convinced himself that he was, it soon became apparent. His thoughts turned to Loki, and how their friendship had blossomed from stitching up his leg. He enjoyed the God's company. He was smart, funny and very loyal. And he had quickly discovered that he gave the best hugs. He began to dwell on his fight with Stark, and all the things he said and did not mean. Then he remembered them making up, only an hour or so ago, and how relieved he was. Then his thoughts went back to his hulk out, and how Loki helped to calm him down. No one had ever calmed him down that much before.

Bruce was pulled away from his thoughts when the common room door swung open again. Thor half entered, a smile on his face as he saw his three friends.

"I hope you do not mind," He smiled, "But I have brought a friend with me." He entered the room fully, his arm dragging another person in to the room.

"Whoa!" Natasha shot up from the sofa as Loki walked in. "What the hell did you bring him in here for?" She panted, her handing fumbling at her sides for a weapon.

"Do not be alarmed." Thor bellowed, "Loki is here under my supervision. He cannot harm anyone. And he won't." Clint lifted himself from the sofa at that point, still holding his crutch in his good arm.

"How do you know he won't? You can't trust him. You know that better than any of us." He growled, Loki giving him a dirty look as he spoke. "Let me guess, he promised you he wouldn't hurt anybody and you believed him."

"Guys, let's all calm down." Bruce said from the sofa. He had sat up to see who had entered the room, but he hadn't bothered to move like the others did. He never thought he'd be the one telling everyone to calm themselves. "Look, Loki can sit over here with me. If he causes any problems, I'll take him back. Neither of you have to deal with him, okay?" He suggested. Natasha looked at Clint for approval, and he gave a nod back to Bruce, settling himself back down on the sofa slowly and letting Natasha resume her position. It was obvious that she could not get completely comfortable with her former enemy still in the room. Loki on the other hand had bounded out of Thor's grasp and over to the far end of the room to sit beside Bruce. The Doctor had previously been sprawled on the sofa but he had moved his legs so Loki had somewhere to sit. Thor, who looked dejected that there was no room for him with the others, headed for the kitchen for a box of poptarts before heading to the last remaining sofa and got himself comfortable.

* * *

A few moments later, and Clint and Natasha had completely relaxed, almost forgetting that Loki was in the room, and they were completely engrossed in the film. Thor was busy finishing off the last few poptarts, watching the screen in awe. He was still amazed by the moving pictures, as they had nothing like that in Asgard. Every so often he would look over to Loki and see him with Bruce, letting out a little chuckle to himself to see his brother so happy.

It was true. Loki was happy. He had settled down, lying across the sofa with his head on Bruce's knee. He was half watching the film, half watching Bruce, but the half of him that was paying attention to the screen wasn't really that interested. His facial expression would usually be dark and hateful, even when he was simply resting, but this time his face was calm and content, maybe even smiling a little, but it was hard to tell. Bruce on the other hand was facing the screen, but his eyes had completely glazed over. He was still engrossed in his own thoughts, even though his entire mind was just a blur. A hazy sheet of white had laid itself across every problem that was in his head, including the constant risk of the other guy popping up, and in the back of his mind, he knew it was all because he was with Loki. Every time he tried to think about something troubling, the problems he'd had with Tony, the suicide attempt, anything... He just thought about how Loki's head was resting on his knee. Subconsciously, Bruce began to stroke Loki's hair, just comfortable with him being there. When he realised what he was doing, he looked down to look at Loki, who was looking back with a smile. He couldn't help but smile back. Having Loki there was like having a small kitten in his lap, and he could have sworn Loki had just let out a faint purr. He looked across the room to see what the others were doing, watching Natasha for a moment, whose face was still as hard as stone, despite watching the touching scene before her. Clint on the other hand had his arm around her, and although he was also watching the film, it was obvious that he was more bothered about holding Natasha close. By the time Bruce's gaze panned over to Thor, Thor had looked directly up at him. The Doctor gave him a gentle smile, expecting one back, but instead he got an excited beam. This wasn't like one of Thor's hyperactive grins though, this was something new. He studied Thor's face for a moment before realising exactly what he was trying to say.

_I know something you don't know._


	19. Revelations

**A/N: Credit goes to my best friend Rachel for her assistance with one of the conversations during this chapter! A link to her fan fiction page is on my profile, so check her out!**

* * *

Loki had been taken back to the medical ward by Agent Hill before the film was even over, and then he was taken back to his cell. Bruce tried to hide his disappointment, but he knew he would probably pay him a visit later. Not long after his departure, Steve and Tony entered the room together. Bruce found it weird, seeing as they had been at each other's throats not a week before. Steve took a seat beside Thor, whereas Tony wandered over to the kitchen, and Bruce followed him.

"Hey, Tony." He smiled gently, leaning against the counter opposite him.

"Hey, green giant." He grinned, pouring himself a drink.

"Green giant?" Bruce repeated, cocking his head to one side. "That's a new one." He laughed, and Tony laughed with him.

"Yeah well, can never have enough nicknames." Tony chuckled, sipping at his glass. "So, I'm thinking of going to the lab in a bit, getting a bit of work done before Fury sends us all out again, you coming?"

"Sure." He smiled. Bruce was glad they'd got their friendship back on track. "What do you need help with?"

"Well, the crotch on my suit is getting loose. Needs to be tighter. But you don't have to help with that." He laughed.

"That sounds... riveting. And here I thought you'd be bigging yourself up, saying you need more room." He joked.

"Hey, it's my most important area!" Tony pointed sternly at him, "What would I do if that got damaged?"

"I'm sure you'd cope. After all, it's not how big it is, it's how you use it." He grinned. "Besides, if it got damaged, I'd be more worried about myself. I'd never hear the last of it. As if you didn't complain enough already." He nudged Tony's arm.

"Gee thanks." He smiled, sipping at his drink. "So anyways, while I'm fastening myself up, what are you gonna get on with?"

"Ah, I'll probably check out some college papers, see what kids think gamma radiation is nowadays." He chuckled to himself. "But don't worry about that. Anyways, I wanted to talk to you." His voice turned to a low hush.

"Sounds like a party. And really? I need to tell you something as well actually, I suppose there's no better time than now." He smirked.

"You go first."

"No, you go first, you came over to me, you go first." Tony protested.

"Okay... I wanted to know what was going on with you and Cap. You're... scarily close." He raised an eyebrow.

"Ah." He grumbled, "See, that's what I was going to tell you." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "What do you think of Steve? Think he's... alright?"

"Uh... well we've never really spoken but he seems fine yeah. Now tell me what's going on." He furrowed his brow.

"Well, he's grown on me, y'know? Maybe... maybe more than I expected anyone would." He looked away.

"W-what are you trying to say?" He frowned again. Tony let out a sigh, realising he'd _have_ to say it now.

"Okay, well... Due to recent events, I am now... In a relationship. With Steve." He looked away again.

"W-wh... How the... Okay, what? I'm confused." He blurted, grabbing Tony's drink from his hand and taking a gulp.

"Whoa, Brucey, steady." He chuckled, taking the glass from him and backing away. "See, part of me knew you wouldn't react very well."

"No, no, Tony, it's fine, seriously. I just wasn't expecting that." He held out a hand to stop his friend from leaving. "It was just a shock." He smiled warmly. Tony stared at Bruce, still unconvinced.

"So... it doesn't bother you?"

"Why did you think it would?" He laughed to himself. "Tony, it's not my business what you do, or who you do it with. I mean, if you thought I'd be bothered because I liked you or something, then... No, I didn't... that whole kiss thing was a mistake." He tapered off slightly, and Tony was shaking his head, not wanting to bring the kiss up.

"It's alright, that was the past."

"Exactly. So yeah, I'm happy for you, Tony. And besides, I'd be a hypocrite if I was disgusted by a gay relationship." He laughed.

"Very true. You're the first to know, Brucey." Tony smiled.

"Good. I'm honoured. Just promise me one thing." He grinned. Tony narrowed his eyes to look at him.

"What?"

"I can be the best man at the wedding." He punched his arm playfully. Tony pushed him back as they laughed.

"I wouldn't trust anyone else with the job but you." He finally blurted out, before pulling Bruce into a hug.

* * *

"Alas, my friends, I am tired. I must bid you all adieu." Thor smiled through sleepy eyes, standing up from the sofa. He couldn't wait to go back to his room and curl under the covers, but then he realised how he had completely trashed his quarters just hours ago. The smile faded from his face and instead he stood still, frozen like a statue, dreading going back to his room.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Steve asked, his eyebrows knitting together when he noticed Thor's sudden reaction change.

"Oh, nothing, Brother Steve. I have just remembered that there is a lot to clean up in my room." He frowned. It would take him forever to sort his chamber out. He remembered all the smashed glass and overturned furniture.

"I'll help you if you like." He suggested, a smile on his face. He was always trying to do his bit, and helping out Thor, possibly his best friend, was one of the best ways to make a difference.

"That would be most useful, friend, thank you." Thor beamed, clapping Steve on the back before heading for the door. "Goodnight, friends." He bowed his head graciously to the others before leaving.

"Sleep well, guys." Steve smiled, waving a gentle salute to everyone, and flashing a quick grin to Tony that said 'I'll see you later'. He followed Thor out of the door and jogged down the hallway to keep up with him. Although they were of similar muscular build, it was no lie that Thor was taller than Steve, so his strides were bigger. "What do you need to clean up then?" He smiled.

"Oh, I may have gotten angry with myself earlier and caused a commotion in my room. No one was hurt in the process, of course, but there is a lot of work to do before I can sleep, Brother Steve." He spoke slowly, not turning to look at Steve. He was ashamed of what he had done to his room, especially after all the obvious effort that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had put into decorating it.

"I'm sure it's not too bad. Nothing a little sweeping can't solve." Steve grinned, making light of the situation.

"Prepare yourself for the worst, my friend." Thor muttered when they approached the door of his quarters. "This shan't be an easy task." He swung the door open and Steve looked inside, his eyes widening when he saw the ragged strips of fabric strewn across the floor, shattered glass settled on the ground like the first broken icicles of winter.

"Well." He swallowed slowly, before turning to Thor and smiling gently. "We better get to work."

* * *

"I think I'm gonna hit the sack too, you guys." Clint yawned, not moving from his place on the sofa, Natasha still cuddled up to his side.

"Leaving the party so soon? You're a spoilsport." Tony groaned, a fresh glass of whiskey in his hand as he lounged on another sofa beside Bruce. He had convinced them to let him put the sports channel on, something that wasn't really his favourite, but he couldn't stand another soppy film.

"No, seriously you guys, I need to go to bed." He grumbled, lifting himself up slowly. Natasha stood with him, supporting him from one side before grabbing his crutch from the wall and handing it to him.

"You should go back to the hospital ward, you know. I don't think you're ready to sleep in a normal bed yet." Bruce suggested.

"Don't worry, Banner, I wasn't gonna let him go back to our quarters." Natasha smiled. "Come on you." She chuckled, putting an arm around Clint's waist and hobbling with him to the door. "See you guys tomorrow."

"Bye Nat, sleep well, bird-brain." Tony called at them before they left, Bruce just giving them a gentle wave. The door closed, and both of their heads turned back to the screen.

"So... You and Steve, hmm?" Bruce grinned after a few moments. "I didn't even think you were into guys that much."

"Well, you know me. I'd do a lamppost if it looked at me the right way." Tony chuckled. "But seriously, he's wonderful, Bruce. He's everything I ever wished I'd find in a person."

"Whoa... Don't get all sentimental on me, Stark. What happened to the cold hearted narcissist Stark? And who replaced him with this soppy bastard?" He laughed, nudging his arm playfully.

"Shut up, Banner." He groaned. Bruce just laughed, and a few more awkward moments passed whilst they 'watched' the football, though neither of them were interested. Tony was busy thinking about Steve, and how awesome it felt to be telling people, as if they were a real couple now. Bruce was thinking all kinds of things, a mix of happiness for his best friend, and glumness for himself. It was that night that he'd discovered his true feelings for someone else. But he knew it would never happen. Either the other person wouldn't like him in return, or his friends would see him as a traitor. The thought made him more and more upset, and it must have shown on his face, as it wasn't long before Tony was prodding his arm. "What's up, Brucey?"

"Hm? Oh... Nothing." He grumbled. "I'm fine."

"Lies." Tony said firmly, narrowing his eyes at the Doctor. He grabbed the TV remote and switched it off before turning his full attention to his friend. "Tell me what it is before I have to tickle it out of you."

"Really? You would resort to the ways of an eleven year old school boy to get me to tell you my problems?" He groaned, raising an eyebrow at him.

"What can I say? I'm childish. Now tell me." He whined, prodding him again.

"Just... Ugh. I don't know, Tony. I'm just tired." He groaned, stretching his arms to try and prove a point.

"Bruce. Don't be an ass. Something's bothering you. I can tell."

"When is something not bothering me?" He tried to smile, but he couldn't. "Seriously, it's not a big deal. Just... It doesn't matter."

"It's a big deal if it's bothering my best friend. Come on, I told you something big today. Really big. And you're the first to know. Surely you can tell me whatever it is that's bothering you." He grumbled, continuing to prod at Bruce's arm. The Doctor gave a sigh before realising there was no easy way out.

"Look, you know how you were worried about how I'd react about you and Steve?" Bruce spoke slowly.

"Yes?"

"It's kinda the same thing for me, except there's no relationship." He mumbled.

"Okay, I know I'm a genius and all, but for once, I don't follow." Tony said bluntly.

"I like someone. But I can't like them. And the rest of you will go crazy." Bruce finally sighed. Tony's eyes widened. Bruce didn't even have to say his name, but they both knew exactly who it was.

"Oh god. I knew this would happen. Bruce.. I don't think-" He was cut off by another sigh from his friend and he realised he wasn't doing him any favours. Bruce had been through so much, and faced so much hardship in his life. Tony had spent the majority of their friendship trying to convince Bruce that he was worth more than he thought he was, and here he was pushing him down like everyone else. "I think it's great." He smiled. Bruce's head shot up.

"W-what?" He asked, his brow furrowed, pushing the glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Like you said to me, it's not my business what you do, or who you do it with. I'm just glad you've found someone." He grinned, squeezing Bruce's shoulder.

"But that's the thing." He sighed. "I haven't found anyone. He doesn't know. He probably doesn't feel the same."

"I'm sure we'll find a way to get it out of him. You're forgetting that my boyfriend is best friends with his brother." Tony smiled, but Bruce just let out a snort.

"Yeah, 'cause he tells Thor everything, doesn't he?"

"Have faith, Banner. I'm Tony Stark. If I want to find something out, I will. Now come on. It's getting late. I'm off to bed." He yawned, picking himself up off the sofa and draining the dregs of his whiskey glass. He set the glass down and headed for the door, holding it open for Bruce before giving him a pat on the back as a goodbye. Tony walked coolly down the corridor before reaching the private quarters, and debated whether to go to Steve's quarters or his own. With a grin, he turned the knob of Steve's door, and shuffled in before anyone noticed, waiting for him to return from Thor's quarters.


End file.
